I never consciously tried to conceive of what my sound should be...I never tried to imitate anybody, but when you love somebody's music, you're influenced...I really don't know how I developed my sound, but it comes from a combination of my musical conception and no doubt the basic shape of the oral cavity.

I came from an era when we didn't use electronic instruments. The bass wasn't even amplified. The sound was the sound you got.

You know, when I'm playing, I think of myself in front of the Wailing Wall with a saxophone in my hands, and I'm davening, I'm really telling it to the Wall.

Hearing myself so much all the time, I don't think I sound that special all the time because it's me.

Life is too full of distractions nowadays. When I was a kid we had a little Emerson radio and that was it. We were more dedicated. We didn't have a choice.

I've done some dastardly things but what can I do except make amends and apologize?

I never have any trouble playing anything I can think of. The trouble is in thinking of what to play.