Melodies

Dear Editor:Your article on Irving Berlin's melodies struck a chord with me. ("Irving Berlin's Melodies Have a Place in History," 2/24/11) I've been a pianist, singer and composer for many years and agree this music is timeless and should not be referred to as old because great melodies stay with us. Jazz musicians find these melodies useful as a vehicle for improvisation or to create new songs from the chord changes, with a new melody they can actually copyright. Berlin's music and jazz are gifts to the world. We should have more places like the Downey Theatre to hear this music live. It's too good to limit to one or two nights a week - we need it daily. There's not one place in Downey, at least to my knowledge, that has a real piano, where people can enjoy on a nightly basis. Hopefully with all the new places coming to Downey, that will soon change. -- Shawn Morgan, Downey

********** Published: March 3, 2011 - Volume 9 - Issue 46