There is no black-and-white situation. It's all part of life. Highs, lows, middles.

My responsibility is to fulfil what that natural thing is. The thing that I dislike about pop rock Top 40 music is that it's not natural.

I wanted to find out why I wasn't getting off on what I was doing and try and make some sense out of the evolution of it.

The first piece of music that captured my imagination was probably Ray Charles Live At Newport.

I understood jazz, I understood how it worked. That's what I apply to everything.

I've been in America for almost ten years. I've had many parts of the American experience. I've been all over this country and seen many different parts of it. It's just that I'm not an American. I've never become an American. I'm talking about the whole thing-psychologically, citizenship, the whole trip. Of course I've definitely been influenced by America-I'm definitely influenced by the music and the culture.

[Jazz musicians] couldn't cut rock. I had to be more limited and specific about what I was doing.