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.

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

To most jazz critics I was basically Kenny G.

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.

When you get cancer, it's like really time to look at what your life was and is, and I decided that everything I've done so far is not as important as what I'm going to do now.

Being selfish to me means that you have to look out for yourself and you don't have to sacrifice.

One of the advantages of not having a record contract is that you can make your own mistakes, you don't need somebody else to organize them for you.