One of the most interesting recordings I ever heard was hearing Tristano and Charlie Parker playing together. They were both at their peak.
I stand back, sometimes, behind the rhythm section, so I don't physically look like the leader. I don't like that concept too much.
People look for a messiah all the time. And everybody is just busy doing their own thing, trying to learn how to play the music.
Each of these instruments has a voice, and if I hear a sound on an instrument that I don't like, I'm not interested usually in what he plays.
I hear many extra-musical things somehow in Coltrane.
A lot of bands were doing remotes from ballrooms around the country.
I wish that person outside would stop coughing.
It was 100 percent music. There was no ego involved, no attitudes, no black and white, it was pure music.
Benny Goodman was one of the big influences as a clarinet player. That's why I wanted the clarinet.
As long as there are people trying to play music in a sincere way, there will be Jazz.
I'd like to feel that whatever I play is a result of whatever I've heard.
Sound is the first thing that we tune into.
I listen to classical music very much. There's a lot of jazz that I don't enjoy listening to.
I love Indian music very much, but I haven't studied that specifically.
In some ways Lester Young is the most complex rhythmically of any musician. He does some things which are just phenomenal.
Most jazz players work out their solos, at least to the extent that they have a very specific vocabulary.
I've played with not such great players, and found that I was inspired to play very well. I welcome every one of those opportunities.
As soon as I play full bodied, I block out the rest of the sound. I'm just looking for the right note to fit the chords I'm hearing.