My ambition when I started out was to play two or three gigs a week. And that's what I'm doing.

I just like any music to swing, no matter what it is.

I write songs. Then I record them. And later, maybe I perform them on stage. That's what I do. That's my job. Simple.

That's what it is-it's jazz. It's just jazz. That's what the whole thing is about to me. It's about what's happening right now in this context. This conversation is jazz to a certain extent. It's improvisation. What appeals to me about music is the improvization. That's what I don't like about the media-they're not living it.

Jackie Wilson said it was Reet-Petite, kind of love you got knock me off my feet.

If you're putting somebody down, you're doing it because you're just seeing a part of yourself that you don't like. That's all that is.

Way across the country where the hillside mountains glide, the dynamo of your smile caressed the barefoot virgin child.