If it's not going to sound like Terrapin Station, what's the point of playing Terrapin Station?

If I were like a lot of other people, then it wouldn't be fun; but since I'm like me, it's okay.

You don't know what you like, you like what you know. In order to know what you like, you have to know everything.

A lot of musicians have a tough time hearing what we're doing in a trio format.

The way to learn the language is to rip off other players. As Benny Golson told me, "We all start off sounding like other cats. And gradually, a lick here or there,we start to sound like ourselves. But it takes a long time to do so..." That'swhat he told me, and it worked for me.

One of the things that's clear to me from interviews that I've read is that the more popular successful jazz musicians had audiences above and beyond the music community.

I don't care who likes it or buys it. Because if you use that criterion, Mozart would have never written Don Giovanni, Charlie Parker never would have played anything but swing music. There comes a point at which you have to stand up and say, this is what I have to do.