Everyone wants to do what the great ones do; but very few are willing to do what they did to become great

I got to perform the [Jaques] Ibert Concertino Da Camera with a brilliant pianist at school named Chunga. I got to perform the [Alexander] Glazunov Concerto in senior year with our school orchestra and the Jewish Grossman orchestra. I won a scholarship from the Goldman band to perform the [Paul] Creston Concerto. Which I never played with them, but they still gave me the money.

Successful people do ordinary things with extraordinary consistency, commitment and focus.

I never really had a classical saxophone set-up. I just had a middle of the road set up.

Barry Harris had a club called Jazz Cultural Theater and there were sessions there on a regular basis. I remember being there and sitting in with [Charles] McPherson and Barry being there, and just smiling at me. He didn't talk to me much at the time, he just came up and gave me a smile, which meant a lot. I've since gotten to know him and been around him a little bit.

Remember, you have only one ride through life so give it all you got and enjoy the ride.

I got to talk to Mel Lewis a lot as a teenager. I think that's what really impacted me the most around that time.