But when I first got cancer, after the initial shock and the fear and paranoia and crying and all that goes with cancer - that word means to most people ultimate death - I decided to see what I could do to take that negative and use it in a positive way.

Music allows the great opportunity to play with people you love.

I had sat in one day in Central Park with Bonnie and Delaney, and Duane was playing with them, so I asked if he wanted to work on an album. You never had to say to him how to play the guitar.

The music we're playing now is based on my heritage, which is Russian, Romanian and Hungarian.

My ego is controlled enough that I don't have to be the focus.

What I try to do is produce an atmosphere where musicians want to invest in what they do and give to the recording. I hire those musicians who I know will play something creative and interesting.

Being stubborn has helped, being selfish is not a bad thing.