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I love playing and working on music. It is something that I feel really lucky to be able to spend my life doing. And I don't sleep much!
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I was able to work with the best musicians in Kansas City starting when I was really young.
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I hate the way chorus boxes sound.
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I used to love going and playing jam sessions, doing things spontaneously. I can't do that anymore. Everything you do is documented, nothing is casual anymore.
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When talking about writing, I often use the analogy of archaeology. There are these great tunes all around. Your skill as a musician allows you to pick them out without breaking them.
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I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music world and have been able to play exactly what I have wanted the way I have wanted.
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I think I represent a more left-wing view of what jazz is.
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I think I have a basic sound aesthetic that is in most of what I do.
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I think jazz is actually quite unforgiving in its disdain for nostalgia. It demands creativity and change at its highest level.
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No two notes are ever the same volume. With the guitar, you really have to model in your mind this wider thing; you're trying to create the illusion of a bigger dynamic range.
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My older brother Mike is an excellent trumpet player. By the time he was 12, he was playing around Kansas City in classical situations. He was already an amazing talent.
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I saw A Hard Day's Night 12 or 13 times.
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What I look for in musicians is a sense of infinity.
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There are musicians who go through their lives sort of shedding their skins. For me, I've always felt backward-compatible to Version 1.0.
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The beauty of jazz is that it's malleable. People are addressing it to suit their own personalities.
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I'm always inspired when there's a robustness to the material in front of me.
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It's more about conception and touch and spirit and soul than whether my hardware was in place.
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I have three young kids and a great family. I love hanging out with them more than anything.
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I can't really say enough about Chris Potter. He is one of the greatest musicians I have ever known, and every second I have been on the band stand with him has been an absolute pleasure.
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'More and more as time has gone on, I realize that playing is really more about listening than it is about playing.'