I Never Sit Down And Write. I

I'm Playin' Music For A Certain Type Of Person. Fortunately, There Are More And More Of Us. At Least There Are More Comin' To See Me Than There Were 30 Years Ago Or So.

I Was Taking Chemical Engineering. But I Went Into The Army After That. When I Came Out Of The Army, I Was A Different Person. I Met A Lot Of Good Jazz Players In The Army.

My Main Influences Have Always Been The Classic Jazz Players Who Sang, Like Louis Armstrong And Nat King Cole And Jack Teagarden.

I Start Out With Words, With The Idea, The Line. Then After I Get A Line Or Two, I Try To Find What Melodic Line Those Lines Would Be Suited To. As Soon As I Find The Form I Can Finish The Song In My Head.

I Never Sit Down And Write. I Just Sorta Let Things Form In My Brain.