I Never Consciously Tried To Conceive Of

Life Is Too Full Of Distractions Nowadays. When I Was A Kid We Had A Little Emerson Radio And That Was It. We Were More Dedicated. We Didn't Have A Choice.

Switch To Piano! No. Really, If You Like An Instrument That Sings, Play The Saxophone. At Its Best It's Like The Human Voice. Of Course, It Would Be Best If You Could Actually Sing With Your Own Voice. The Saxophone Is An Imperfect Instrument, Especially The Tenor And Soprano, As Far As Intonation Goes. Therefore, The Challenge Is To Sing On An Imperfect Instrument Or 'voice' That Is Outside Of Your Body. I Love That Challenge And Have For Over Forty-five Years. As Far As Playing Jazz, No Other Art Form, Other Than Conversation, Can Give The Satisfaction Of Spontaneous Interaction.

You Know, When I'm Playing, I Think Of Myself In Front Of The Wailing Wall With A Saxophone In My Hands, And I'm Davening, I'm Really Telling It To The Wall.

The Value Of Jazz Still Has To Be Clarified. People Involve Themselves With Its Superficialities Without Digging For Its Soul.

I've Always Regretted The Fact That I've Never Formally Studied And Learned The Mechanics Of Writing Music.