Even the most jingoistic person would have to admit that even American cultural music comes from Europe. That's what classical music is, real European music.

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.

Improvisation is the ability to create something very spiritual, something of one's own.

I'm fortunate that I'm making a living at it now because I'm not equipped to do anything else.

But if I didn't have to make money, I would still play my horn.

I simply want to reach a level where I will never cease to make progress...so that, even on the bad evenings, I may never be bad enough to despair.

Jazz never ends... it just continues.