January/February 2000

Jay Leonhart
Great Duets
Chiaroscuro Records

By Sunsh Stein

On Great Duets Leonhart gets cozy with some old and new pals like Bill Charlap whipping along on "Confirmation," Gene Bertoncini gliding in and out of Leonhart's lead-in to "Stella by Starlight," and Mike LeDonne waltzing through "My Romance." Leonhart's a foil not a backdrop for Joe Williams on "5 O'Clock in the Morning," he beats Eddie Higgins to the last word on "If Dreams Come True," and solos hard on a honky-tonk "Everything Happens to Me," with Norman Simmons.