Instrumental music is increasingly marginalized.

I tend to play in a way that feels natural to me. To me that's authentic for myself. I play by where I'm led by some sense of where I feel I'm supposed to be.

Jazz music should be inclusive. Smooth jazz to me rules out a certain kind of drama and a certain tension that I think all music needs. Especially jazz music, since improvising is one of the cornerstones of what jazz is. And when you smooth it out, you take all the drama out of it.

Its all about finding the right note at the right place and knowing when to leave well enough alone. And that's a lifelong quest.

I think 'Horace Silver' was actually the first live jazz group I ever heard back when I was a kid in St. Louis. So along with most players of my generation, I have a real affection for the music of 'Horace Silver.

Ninety-nine percent of the music that was of any interest to me when I was growing up came out of the black community.

You never get it figured out. You just keep playing.