When Bobby Hackett visited England in 1974, he did a long interview with Max Jones, later printed in TALKING JAZZ. This passage continues to resonate with me:
If I hear a song, I know how I want it to play. I kind of make it a rule that if it’s by a good composer, I’ll aim for a faithful interpretation, not change too much ‘cos he knew more about writing it than I ever will. So a soloist to me is an interpreter. How did the writer wish the song to sound? That’s the way I try to make it sound. If I’m playing a Cole Porter tune I don’t want it to sound like Birdland — that would be a misinterpretation, and I won’t do it. And the better the song is, the harder it is to play. Say you’re Porter or Gershwin, Berlin, Ellington — and there’s no better example — well, you did all that thinking before putting the song down on paper. So we had better play it the way you conceived it, unless we’re sure we can improve it. I’m not capable of improving on Duke Ellington, and any guys who think they are, well, they must be very vain people.
Those words came to mind when I was listening to Bobby delicately make his way through Harold Arlen’s I’VE GOT THE WORLD ON A STRING in August 1950 with the unsung Charlie Queener, piano; Carl Kress, guitar; Bob Casey, double bass; Don Marino, drums.
It couldn’t be simpler. After Carl Kress’s chordal guitar introduction, Bobby plays the melody tenderly at a slow tempo (his first chorus, with the introduction, takes two minutes), then they switch, with Bobby playing the embellishments on the expected harmony part to Kress’s lead, before concluding in the same sweet mellow mood. Those who understand will understand, and will also go back to admire Queener and Kress, master humble magicians:
No tricks, no gimmicks, no double-time, no altered harmonies. Unadorned, touching, and incredibly hard to do with such open-hearted humility and love for melody, but Bobby did it whenever he played.
Listen again.
May your happiness increase!
JAZZ LIVES 
Thank you Michael. Great music. Your output is amazing. How do you do it?
Best wishes
David
Dear David, your appreciation warms my heart. Simple answer: I am retired; I am married to the most supportive person in the galaxy, and I have a proseltyzing urge: it’s crucial to me that people get to hear Bobby and my other heroes. Thanks for writing! Michael
Love those Louis-like obligattos he plays behind the guitar solo.
That point about being an “interpreter”: wow.
All the very best Michael.
David