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.

You're not born with certain skills; you have to acquire them.

Musicians understand each other through means other that speaking.

You can make records from now 'til doomsday, and there are something like 50,000 records released every year, but the public gets to hear very few of these. They just won't know. They might be great records, but how in the world is the public supposed to find out about them?

These musicians, such as these Cubans in Havana, are a part of a scene that did produce great music and great musicians. They came from this tradition, so it's a good place to look. It's like prospecting: You gotta know where to look.

Something has to happen between you and the public, some interface that lets the public in on what you're doing.

You should try to do something if you think you can see your way clear.