I feel that I have an obligation to jazz and also to myself to play as good as I can play.

I think the problem starts with the general appreciation of the music in the larger society.

I feel that Jazz improvisation is the ultimate. You have to create on the spot, the essence of this music.

Jazz is the type of music that can absorb so many things and still be jazz.

...this is my dilemma. I'm a guy who makes things up as I go along, so nothing is ever finished - there are so many layers. So when you solo, yeah, you might get into one thing, but then, hey, everything has implications! You can hear the next level. And that's how I feel about improvising - there's always another level.

I'm not supposed to be playing, the music is supposed to be playing me. I'm just supposed to be standing there with the horn, moving my fingers. The music is supposed to be coming through me; that's when it's really happening.

One very important thing I learned from Monk was his complete dedication to music. That was his reason for being alive. Nothing else mattered except music, really.