I fell in love with Jazz when I was 12 listening to Duke Ellington and hearing a lot of Jazz in New York on the radio.
I started in New Orleans music and played all through the history of Jazz.
In fifteen seconds the difference between composition and improvisation is that in composition you have all the time you want to decide what to say in fifteen seconds, while in improvisation you have fifteen seconds.
You have to sound sad first, then maybe later you can sound good.
Risk is at the heart of Jazz. Every note we play is a risk.
People don’t want to suffer. They want to sound good immediately and this is one of the biggest problems.
I still love the whole history of Jazz. The old things sound better than ever.
There’s a lot of recreational Jazz going on, where cats learn a particular style and become sharks on somebody else’s language.
Jazz is like wine. When it is new it’s only for the experts, but when it gets older everybody wants it.
Jazz musician is a combination entertainer, poet, singer, educator, student, artist, seducer and all-round good fellow.
In composition you have all the time you want to decide what to say in 15 seconds, in improvisation you have 15 seconds.
