Being stubborn has helped, being selfish is not a bad thing.
As much as I think John Coltrane belongs on the list, I think without Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young, both of whom defined improvising on the tenor sax, there would not have been the evolution of the craft by John Coltrane.
If you're in jazz and more than ten people like you, you're labeled commercial.
Music allows the great opportunity to play with people you love.
To most jazz critics I was basically Kenny G.
Think about it: Look at the strides of awareness and treatment and tests that women have had with breast cancer, that the gay community has had with AIDS, because they're active and they talk about it.