You don't have to live the blues to play the blues.

My father's father came from Russia; my mother came from Romania.

You have to be concerned with yourself because if you're not on it all the time, nobody else is going to be.

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.

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

To most jazz critics I was basically Kenny G.

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.