>>1541>skill levelPersonally I think it's about how much you're physically capable of combined with how much a mind you have to learn/make musical choices.
If you haven't heard this type of advice already, practice the piece at as slow a tempo as you can stand, and if you can, try and memorize the melody to the point of being able to hum phrases from it accurately with all the little fills and such.
>scalesIt's jazz, so perhaps the melody is better analyzed by how it relates to the comp chords.