I Had A 10-year Heroin Habit And

The Saxophone Is An Imperfect Instrument, Especially The Tenor And Soprano, As Far As Intonation Goes. The Challenge Is To Sing On An Imperfect Instrument That Is Outside Of Your Body.

When I Got This Saxophone, It Became A Religion. There Wasn't Tv, There Wasn't Much Money, And There Was Just A Real Dedication.... I Never Thought Of It As An Art. It Was Just Work That I Loved. Not Just Work, But Work That I Loved. I Loved It So Much, I Would Play It If Nobody Listened To It. Any Jazz Musician, If There's Nobody Around To Listen, Would Play Just For The Sheer Joy Of Improvising Music.

I Played In Rhumba Bands, Mickey Mouse Bands; All Kinds Of Bands.

I Had A 10-year Heroin Habit And Kicked That. Then I Became An Alcoholic. I Drank Two Fifth's A Day.

I Practiced Saxophone Eight Hours A Day For The First Two Years I Played.