charlie parker, one of the most important improvisors in jazz, created melodies which were so strong which influenced so many people that they've become cliches of the language. for example, [plays sample] you would never want to play a whole improvisation with that, with that one idea, and in fact, most improvisations i play don't have that idea in them, but they may make reference in some way to that idea. the language of jazz is not just melodic cliches, it's also the harmonies that we use in jazz and the way the melodies that we use relate to the harmonies. for example, if i kind of outline a certain chord [ascending notes of a chord played individually] that chord wants to go somewhere else. it wants to go here. [descending notes of the same chord] now, if i'm going to improvise over those chords, i'm going to try to create a melody which fits with those harmonies. so you have to have not only a knowledge of the language, a sensitivity to what everyone else is playing, but also a sense of where you are, where you've been, and where you're going. that's tough. it's hard, but it a

>> once i heard dizzy gillespie, charlie parker, tad namron, got in 52nd street, phony i.d.d music. >> that was it. >> i hated music, hated piano lessons. >> quick question, do you write for a specific artist or for yourself? >> no. i think when you have an artist, like we had with dionne warwick, you kind of write it like you're tailoring clothes. you see more of what she can do, what she can wear. how she can -- how flexible she is, how wide the range is. >> get into her voice. >> and then you can -- that's a great way to go. when you have an artist. and then writing for specifics. i like that a lot. like when we did "promises promises" we had to write that the songs would match what neil simon's book said. >> we've got to go, but before we do, at the top of the hour -- before we do, we've got to bring up hal david, obviously. an extraordinary partnership. a rough ending. i talked about less than none and mccartney, it's hard being stuck in a room with a piano for a long time, but obviously you guys together were an extraordinary partnership. >> i feel very, very badly for