I just feel that music is a great life, because it's very rewarding. It's a gratification. You do this for yourself, and you also do this for other people.

Some things I like to do better than other things, but I've got to say that in the end, the thing that makes it the most interesting for me is who you're with, you know? It's people that make the difference in just about any field, right?

Musicians understand each other through means other that speaking.

Beautiful tunes are all very good and fine, and great musicians are always great, but that alone isn't enough.

You have to be able to improvise and respond to what's going on around you. Then you might get a good piece of work done.

Most folks, when they see movies or hear records, need something that they find pulls them in, draws them in, and appeals to them beyond just the notes. For a record to be memorable and great, it has to have something of this quality. Exactly what that is, I don't know, but I think it has something to do with an atmosphere, an environment that is appealing and attractive. And the people that inhabit this environment have... almost a message for the rest of the world.

The environment is rarely put on tape, or if it is, it's so abstract that most people never realize it. They just don't know what it means. But if you can show it to them, then that's what becomes the main instrument.