I think of guitar players in terms of doctors: you have the doctor for your heart, the cardiologist, then one that works on your feet, your leg. But I believe George Benson is the one that plays all over. To me, he would be the M.D. of them all.

When you don't have much money, you worry that they'll just put you in the ground someplace and your loved ones won't know where you are.

Jazz is the big brother of the blues. If a guy's playing blues like we play, he's in high school. When he starts playing jazz it's like going on to college, to a school of higher learning.

When you heard Jimi Hendrix, you knew it was Jimi Hendrix. He introduced himself with his instrument. His attack to a guitar man, was, oh, something else! You think of one of the great American ball players, or one of the great fighters of the world, you know, that's the way he would attack any note on his guitar.

I've put up with more humiliation than I care to remember.

It's going to be years and years before most people realize how greatly he contributed to American music.

Kenny Burrell is overall the greatest guitarist in the world and he's my favorite.