[Dixielandjazz] Play The Melody!

[Roy (Bud) Taylor]

Amen brother!

What is the appeal of OKOM to our fans?  It is because they love the old
melodies, many of which have been forgotten in this world of music
everything and everybody doing their own music.

State the melody to lock that in the mind of the listener and then show how
you can embellish the melody through your solos, never straying away so far
that the listener will not be able to compare what you're doing to the
melody they remember.

That is not to say that new melodies are not attractive, but if you're
treading on unfamiliar ground in the listener's mind and you better stick
even closer to the melody in your solos.

-- 
Roy (Bud) Taylor
Smugtown Stompers Jazz Band
Rochester, New York
Traditional Jazz since 1958
"we ain't just whistling dixie!"