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

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.

We all played bad before we played good.

It's hard to get into Newsweek because, as more of our former intellectual magazines take on a pop focus, if there's no buzz, there's no interest.

Everybody talks about finding your voice. Do your homework and your voice will find you.

If youre going to use standards as criteria for signing musicians, you can sign thousands. If youre going to use some sort of conceptual interpretation thats based on the tradition of those standards, but is trying to move away from it, youre down to about 10 people or so.

I like to make records sound good. I'm more like a reducer than a producer. If an artist cannot produce themselves, what's the point?