I realized that equipment really had little to do with why I sound like the way I sound.

From 1962 to 1965, the guitar became this icon of youth culture, thanks mostly to the Beatles.

I think I have a basic sound aesthetic that is in most of what I do.

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.

I hate the way chorus boxes sound.

People sometimes say it takes a long time to become a jazz fan, but for me it took about five seconds.

I don’t worry too much about the fundamentalist principles that are in almost any discussion about jazz.

I was deep in the zone of practicing almost constantly.

I saw A Hard Day’s Night 12 or 13 times.

Jazz is not something that can be defined through blunt instruments. It is much more poetic than that.

Listening is the key to everything good in music.

The first thing I learned was the theme from Peter Gunn.

I was able to work with the best musicians in Kansas City starting when I was really young.

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.

It’s more about conception and touch and spirit and soul than whether my hardware was in place.

I realized that equipment really had little to do with why I sound like the way I sound.

I think I represent a more left-wing view of what jazz is.

The beauty of jazz is that it’s malleable. People are addressing it to suit their own personalities.

Whatever my recorded output is, it’s a reflection of a general love of music.