Once we're inside a tune, we can do anything with it.

I've never heard anything Wynton [Marsalis] played sound like it meant anything at all. Wynton has no voice and no presence. His music sounds like a talented high-school trumpet player to me... he's jazzy the same way someone who drives a BMW is sporty.

When you're up against an electric band like that, it's like you're on two separate planets.

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.

Your own music comes out of your head and emotions, but it's not etched in your system.

I'm my own most merciless critic onstage.

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