Improvisation is the ability to talk to oneself.
Rhythm is the life of space of time danced through.
The quality of life, values that go down to doin' that, that's the issue.
In short, [Coltrane's] tone is beautiful because it is functional. In other words, it is always involved in saying something. You can't separate the means that a man uses to say something from what he ultimately says. Technique is not separated from its content in a great artist.
I try to imitate on the piano the leaps in space a dancer makes.
To me, the piano in itself is an orchestra.