The creation and destruction of harmonic and 'statistical' tensions is essential to the maintenance of compositional drama. Any composition (or improvisation) which remains consonant and 'regular' throughout is, for me, equivalent to watching a movie with only 'good guys' in it, or eating cottage cheese.

Basically I'm in the idea business -- whether it's a musical idea or a spoken idea ... If you wind up with a political system that wants to put idea men out of business, then you have worry on your hands.

I'm the devil's advocate. We have our own worshipers.

I'm in a big dilemma about my Big-Leg Emma.

It's raw, unbridled superstition for these people to claim that words can harm you.

Classical music is this music that was written by a bunch of dead people a long time ago.

No change in musical style will survive unless it is accompanied by a change in clothing style. Rock is to dress up to.