I Played In Rhumba Bands, Mickey Mouse

The Saxophone Is Actually A Translation Of The Human Voice, In My Conception. All You Can Do Is Play Melody. No Matter How Complicated It Gets, It's Still A Melody.

I Never Consciously Tried To Conceive Of What My Sound Should Be.

My Dark Sound Could Be Heard Across A Room Clearer Than Somebody With A Reedy Sound. It Had More Projection. My Sound Always Seemed To Fill A Room.

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.

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.