In 1994, I started touring again and I recorded two albums for Chesky Jazz.

I find it very difficult to compose when I'm not playing.

My brother had a big band in high school; after that we continued to play together, eventually forming a group called the Jazz Brothers, that recorded for Riverside Records.

I can count on one hand the number of instrumental hits there have been over the last 10 years.

I do not mind having written the song at all. I just wish that I had written it in a different key, as the high d is hard to play. I am glad that I wrote something that brought joy to millions of people.

In 1994, I started touring again and I recorded two albums for Chesky Jazz.

Not with the Rochester Philharmonic, but I formed my own orchestra, made up of musicians from the Eastman School, where I'm on the faculty now, direct the Jazz Ensemble and teach improvisation classes.