... The 'cleverness' syndrome has taken the place of melody. It's like everyone has come down with this terrible disease in jazz....you are always expected to do your own material, which is a strange thing to do if you're a poor composer but a great player.

If music is sound & came from silence, then silence is potentially greater than sound.

I'm not talking ideas, or even presentation. It's like in politics: You have to sell something to become an electric player - like your skin or your heart.

I cannot say what I think is right about Music. I only know the rightness of it.

When I joined the band I didn't know any of the tunes, and when I left the band I didn't know any of the tunes!

I realized that improvisers should probably always have time off. But musicians are always gigging and never have a chance to stop for a minute - unless something drastic occurs.

If I'm not a jazz player all the time, I've at least been cued in to what I do by jazz.