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.
Being stubborn has helped, being selfish is not a bad thing.
My father's father came from Russia; my mother came from Romania.
To most jazz critics I was basically Kenny G.
The music we're playing now is based on my heritage, which is Russian, Romanian and Hungarian.