I look for what's of value and extract that. I don't look to criticize. |
I mean, nobody has a statement on their record. |
I remember my very first recording. It was on a wire recorder, as the tape recording was only just out but too expensive. |
I said, 'If Miles is so open, it must be cool to be open to all this other stuff.' |
I started playing piano when I was 7. And I started with classical lessons. Then I really got exposed to jazz. |
I think a lot of young people being brought up in this scene feel a sense of ruthlessness. There's nothing to plant them deeply down in the soil somehow so they can bend and sway from there. |
I think I heard the name Muddy Waters first, then John Lee Hooker. |
I think I was supposed to play jazz. |
I think there's a great beauty to having problems. That's one of the ways we learn. |
I took a different view of what it was I had been doing before and started to come to some realizations about the way I looked at life. |
I try stuff. I synthesize what's of value with some of the other things I have at my disposal. |
I want to have a purpose. |
I wanted to work with artists who were strong enough personalities that they'd all have something of their own to bring. My foundation is jazz, which is all about interaction. Jazz gives you a lot of tools to play with. |
I was a jazz purist at the time, I had tunnel vision about jazz and classical music, |
I was blown away when Donald asked me to stay in the band. He said that both he and the band really liked my playing. |