I just have never seen anyone build anything significant in any field without having a deep and detailed sense of what they are building on.

I met Gary (Burton) at the Wichita Jazz Festival when I was 18 -- he was one of my favorite musicians and I got to play a few tunes with him there. Shortly after that, I joined his band, which was the equivalent of joining the Beatles for me! He was, and still is, one of the greatest musicians I have ever been lucky enough to be around.

I just have never seen anyone build anything significant in any field without having a deep and detailed sense of what they are building on.

I think that the melodic piece of the puzzle in music is the most esoteric and difficult to quantify.

I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music world and have been able to play exactly what I have wanted the way I have wanted

The more I can learn about music, the more I learn about other things.

Listening is the key to everything good in music.