After playing now for 60 years, it's still very challenging for me to play a simple melody and have it clean and touch the reed at the proper time in the proper way.

Out of Coltrane's whole history, there are things which I think are great from all the periods.

I understood that if I wanted to work, the saxophone was the main instrument. The clarinet was what we call a double.

As long as there are people trying to play music in a sincere way, there will be Jazz.

After playing now for 60 years, it's still very challenging for me to play a simple melody and have it clean and touch the reed at the proper time in the proper way.

Many people do think it's naive to improvise in front of paying customers. I'm not saying one way is better than another.

I could stop and say, Well that was a D minor, G seven, but I really don't want to know that. I just want to know that there's a combination of notes that makes a sound.