My father had a varied ear, from Hank Williams to Ravel.

I had my guitar and some talent so that I could make friends with intelligent people and could talk my way out of difficult situations.

My father's record collection was full of New Orleans music of all kinds. I used to listen to the radio in New York, and all there was on it at the time was Madonna and Michael Jackson, so it sort of passed me by.

I was just learning to play guitar when Tracy Chapman came out. She wrote these songs, she played them by herself and I so admired her for that.

It's wonderful to work with someone with mentor status.

The wonderful thing about Jazz is its willingness to take chances.

It's great to have other people's help. Then the music gets heard. There's a lot more commercial support for that now.