Other Than Conversation, No Other Art Form

I'm A Recovered Alcoholic. I Don't Do Anything Anymore, But Those Things, Those Things Take Away ... You're A Different Personality Completely When You Take Those. For Those Who Are Really Chemically Dependent On Anything, It's Not You.

My Life Is Music, And In Some Vague, Mysterious And Subconscious Way, I Have Always Been Driven By A Taut Inner Spring Which Has Propelled Me To Almost Compulsively Reach For Perfection In Music, Often - In Fact, Mostly - At The Expense Of Everything Else In My Life.

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.

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.

People Think That I Play Effortlessly. I Remember Doing A Record Date With Bill Evans And Afterwards He Said To Me, You Make It Sound So Easy But When I Get Right Up Next To You You're Working Hard And Making It Sound Easy!