Feeling very much at home in a swing setting, Jay Leonhart takes on Harold Arlen, making Arlen’s hits zip to new life on Sensitive to the Touch. From the clarinet, bass, drum opening of “Ding Dong the Wicked Witch Is Dead” to the sax, bass, vocalizing of the last tune, “As Long as I Live,” this band swings hard. Leonhart and clarinetist/saxophonist Ken Peplowski have such obvious synchronicity, while pianist Ted Rosenthal and drummer Grady Tate don’t hesitate to jump right into the fray.
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