A studio recording is perfection, but emotion and passion come only when you turn on the machine and go for the groove. If you do that with no mistakes, it sounds beautiful.

I tend to not want to put labels or categories on the music, only because people come with preconceived ideas about what they're going to hear, or won't come for this reason.

Whether it's string writing or whatever, I try to write for what each instrumentalist can do best.

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

I was blessed to work with The Jazz Messengers when the two piano players were Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea.

With four people you can create one very strong kind of energy, but if you can get 65 people working together, and swinging together, that's a whole other kind of energy.

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