[Dixielandjazz] Chet Baker vs. Melody

[Harold Smith]

Interesting comments from all sides of the issue.  Gee, guys, that's why they call it "Jazz".  That's also why it's known an a theme and variations.  I can just hear all those late 19th Century listeners bitch over some of Brahms' variations because he didn't restate the original melody in a recognizable fashion.

If one already knows the melody, one can then luxuriate in the richness of the ideas and lyricism that Chet Baker weaves around it.   It's still a matter of individual tastes and preferences.  (Now, when it comes to modal jazz and free-form avant garde, that's a different story.)

By the way, I find a sort of kinship betwen Baker and Bobby Hackett in their tonal beauty and in their way of expressing lovely melodic lines around the original theme.



Regards,
Harold Smith