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.

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

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

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.

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.