I’m afraid I’m a sucker for a melody and find that many of the great melodies were written in the 30’s and 40’s. My favorite composer of melodies is Henry Mancini. I feel that a great melody can be presented in many different way. We’ve seen Diana Krall put wonderful old standards to a soft latin beat. While there are too many to list, I’ll give you my two favorites from the Mancini song book.
“Just You And Me Together Love”
“Loss Of Love”
And, perhaps add one more from Cootie Williams and Thelonious Monk.
“Round Midnight”

Frank