[Dixielandjazz] Chet Baker and Lack of Melody???

[Steve Barbone]

Welcome back Charles.

Of course, we might all listen to that clip again to verify whether or not
it is My Funny Valentine. Maybe Chet Baker is putting us on from the grave.
Or maybe the clip is misidentified?

Could it be Autumn Leaves? :-) VBG.  The Shadow knows.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

on 12/2/06 1:54 PM, Bob Romans at cellblk7 at comcast.net wrote:

> Hi Steve and Charles, (welcome back), Suhor...good points you make, but
> simple me, I like to hear melody and harmony, heart and soul, not Arban's or
> Klosé no matter how amazing the technique!!
> Obviously, this is a Moot point among musicians...
> BTW Steve...do you have that address "right around the corner?" I'm getting
> pressure from the gang in CB7..:~)
> 
> Warmest regards,
> Bob Romans,
> 1617 Lakeshore Drive,
> Lodi, Calif., 95242
> PH 209-747-1148
> www.cellblockseven2002.net
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Steve Barbone" <barbonestreet at earthlink.net>
> To: "Bob Romans" <cellblk7 at comcast.net>; <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Sent: Saturday, December 02, 2006 10:35 AM
> Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Chet Baker and Lack of Melody???
> 
> 
>> Hi Bob:
>> 
>> Heck, they grow what I'm smoking right around the corner from you in Lodi.
>> 
>> Last time I listened, Louis, as great as he was, was not the, last word in
>> jazz. Surely he and KO set the bar, but they did it by modifying existing
>> "rules" and my guess is that they never considered themselves as "artists"
>> who musical ideas must be followed in knee jerk fashion.
>> 
>> Listen also to his solo (Ambassador Satch) on Muskrat Ramble. His string
>> of
>> Operatic quotes has nothing to do with the melody of Muskrat Ramble, but
>> it
>> surely follows the chordal structure. :-) VBG.
>> 
>> Yes you should be able to follow the melody in soli if you choose, but you
>> have a choice not to also . . . which he proves on that record.
>> 
>> Or, dig out the Smithsonian Classic Jazz records of several decades ago
>> (since I figure you don't have a lot of Charlie Parker records) and listen
>> to the two takes of Bird's "Embracaeble You". I think you will hear two
>> beautifully constructed "new" melodies that follow the chordal structure.
>> I
>> also think you will be able to recognize and hum the original melody of
>> Embracaeble You while listening to Parker's new compositions.
>> 
>> Best of all, the two takes, which are quite different, were "composed" by
>> Parker about 10 minutes apart and are beautiful additions to the original
>> melody of the tune.
>> 
>> IMO, there is a lot of confusion about improvisation. Melodic Improv is
>> the
>> construction of a new melody around the chords of a tune. Bechet did it
>> early in his career. Hear his solo versions on Tiger Rag. Armstrong did it
>> on many occasions.
>> 
>> Also, IMO, most OKOM soloists today improvise on the chords, not the
>> melody,
>> while some improvise melodically. And some do both.
>> 
>> Perhaps it depends on the audience? I try and improvise melodically
>> creating
>> a new one 8, 12, or 16 bars long, but with a older Dixieland audience I
>> always restate the original melody here and there so they can hear what's
>> going on without too much intellectual activity.
>> 
>> Please folks, if this does not apply to YOU, don't run me over the coals
>> for
>> speaking plainly. IMO it does speak to a large segment of the Dixieland
>> audience today. Those 30 million people or so in the USA who like the
>> music,
>> but do not attend festivals.
>> 
>> Cheers,
>> Steve Barbone
>> 
>> on 12/2/06 12:50 PM, Bob Romans at cellblk7 at comcast.net wrote:
>> 
>>> Hi Steve...please send me some of the good stuff you're smoking...seeds
>>> and
>>> all! :~)
>>> Imagination can be a wonderful thing...at times!
>>> Louis Armstrong said once that you should be able to follow the melody in
>>> your improvised solo...quoting Oliver I think...
>>> I always thought they set (especially Louis) the bar for all of the jazz
>>> musicians that followed...
>>> My thought was instead of taking a beautiful tune like "My Funny
>>> Valentine",
>>> and camouflaging it with dozens of extemporaneous notes, just say, "Here
>>> folks, is a jazz exercise I'm having fun with, playing as many notes as I
>>> can, on the interesting chord changes to a well-known tune".
>>> Don't ruin "My Funny Valentine".
>>> Bob Romans
>>> 
>>>> As for me, I hear the melodies in all of Baker's playing.