I Sang And Wrote Songs When I

I Do Very Few Standards. Hardly Any. Other People's Tunes That I Do Are Usually Obscure Tunes, For The Most Part, Although I Do A Couple Of Duke Ellington Tunes That Are Well Known.

If It's Worth Remembering, I'll Remember It. If Something Keeps Coming Back, If I Keep Thinking Of That Phrase, If I See Manifestations Of It At Different Times And Different Places, Then I Feel It's Worth Making A Song Out Of.

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.

As Far As I'm Concerned, The Essentials Of Jazz Are: Melodic Improvisation, Melodic Invention, Swing, And Instrumental Personality.