I think there are so many ways to become interested in music. I believe signs of sustained interest gives a sense of the right time. Music, if thought of as a language, would perhaps indicate that as early as possible is not so bad. I do believe that a really nurturing first teacher that makes the child love something is crucial.

I think anybody who goes away finds you appreciate home more when you return.

Jazz has been such a force in music, that any musician, including classical composers, have been influenced, and obviously performers, also.

I think the purpose of a piece of music is significant when it actually lives in somebody else. A composer puts down a code, and a performer can activate the code in somebody else. Once it lives in somebody else, it can live in others as well.

What came up at age 49 is I realized that of all the things I'm interested in, the thing I'm most interested in is figuring out what makes people tick, why people think the way they do, why they act the way they do. And I realized that music is such a great way to investigate why people do what they do.

I realized late in life that my twin passions are music and people.

With every year of playing, you want to relax one more muscle. Why? Because the more tense you are, the less you can hear.