The people who really got me off were dealing with the musical potential of their instrument.

I think that the rhythm sections, drummers in particular, are the unsuing heroes of the music. It's the rhythm section that has changed the styles from one period to the other.

Jazz is a democratic musical form. We take our respective instruments & collectively create a thing of beauty.

The American drummer is a one-man percussion orchestra.

The people who really got me off were dealing with the musical potential of their instrument.

You can't write the same book twice. Though I've been in historical musical situations, I can't go back and do that again. And though I run into artistic crises, they keep my life interesting.

They had all this talent, and they had no instruments. So they started rap music. They rhymed on their own. They made their own sounds and their own movements.