It hasn't been hard getting nominated, but winning it is another thing. The competition is tough.

I've discovered all kinds of music and done all kinds of music over the past 40 years, from playing tango with Piazzolla to all the different bands I've had.

Improvising musicians are musical travelers, voyagers. There is a freedom to wander the musical landscape.

I know of musicians who have played together for decades who hate each other. The Modern Jazz Quartet for one.

I think I always have been someone who likes to push at the edges of things, looking for something different.

But if you listen to great piano players, both classical and jazz, theres a huge range of dynamics and colors and emotional expression thats possible with the instrument.

I was surprised when I finally moved to Boston and the East Coast, to discover that there weren't that many vibraphone players around. And I was the only one playing with four mallets.