I rarely do autograph shows. Maybe two or three a year. Just to keep my price up. Also I've got too much other stuff to do. I have to teach Renaissance art.

It's not good to meet you heroes. The humanity in them or the a**hole in them will bring it down. And you don't want to do that.

Here we are signing autographs for people who essentially know know how to write their name and are functionally literate. But if you cease to teach cursive writing, how does one know how to, I don’t know, replicate the Declaration of Independence? Or the orations of Cicero? Is it just going to be on the internet?

If you've got kids you know you've only got one prayer: "Let my kids outlive me." That's the bottom of everything.

I went to North Texas State, one of the great jazz schools. When I realized I wasn't going to be Miles Davis, I switched my major to English and theater.

There is a good news and bad news about a remake. When you remake something, if you futz with the theme, you are in danger. Because people get it - they get the theme. They know what is galvanizing, what is energizing.

I play in a jazz sextet. So I don't have time to do a lot of conventions. The good thing is, when I do them, it does puts me back in touch with the people who go to movies. I do these shows just to stay in touch with them.