Other than conversation, no other art form can give the satisfaction of spontaneous interaction like Jazz.

Other than conversation, no other art form can give the satisfaction of spontaneous interaction like Jazz.

It’s like a language. You learn the alphabet, which are the scales. You learn sentences, which are the chords. And then you talk extemporaneously with the horn. It’s a wonderful thing to speak extemporaneously, which is something I’ve never gotten the hang of. But musically I love to talk just off the top of my head. And that’s what jazz music is all about.

There are four qualities essential to a great jazzman. they are taste, courage, individuality, and irreverence.

The saxophone is actually a translation of the human voice, in my conception. All you can do is play melody. No matter how complicated it gets, it's still a melody.

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.

You don't rehearse jazz to death to get the camera angles.