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" A lot of jazz artists think people should like what they're doing just because it's jazz. I don't buy that. "

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" I'm always inspired when there's a robustness to the material in front of me. "

" One of the things jazz has always excelled at is translating the reality of the times through its musical prism. "

" For me, let's keep jazz as folk music. Let's not make jazz classical music. Let's keep it as street music, as people's everyday-life music. Let's see jazz musicians continue to use the materials, the tools, the spirit of the actual time that they're living in, as what they build their lives as musicians around. "

" 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! "

" I think jazz is actually quite unforgiving in its disdain for nostalgia. It demands creativity and change at its highest level. "

" I'm triggering acoustic instruments. I'm literally beating, smacking, hitting, blowing, doing physical things. It's an incredibly exciting way to make music. "

" 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. "

" If you come to my house, you won't see a wall of trophies or things like that. I'm sort of 'on to the next thing' all the time. "

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

" 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. "

" Someone who knew me when I was 14 said I was the oldest 14-year-old on the planet. Now I'm a 14-year-old who is 60. "

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

" The reality of music itself, which is the fabric of life for me, is where most of my attention is. "

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

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

" I'm always trying to find 'connections' between things. That art is the juxtaposition of a lot of things that seem unrelated but add up to something recognizable. "

" What I look for in musicians is a sense of infinity. "

" I would always contend that talent is an element, but over the long run, ultimately, a minor part of it all; it is mostly hard work. "

" If we are going to list guitar influences, the biggest one by far is Wes Montgomery. Also, Gary Burton was obviously huge for me in a number of ways. But beyond that, Clifford Brown, Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard. "

" 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. "

" The guitar for me is a translation device. It's not a goal. And in some ways, jazz isn't a destination for me. For me, jazz is a vehicle that takes you to the true destination - a musical one that describes all kinds of stuff about the human condition and the way music works. "

" The pianist Cecil Taylor is extremely melodic; the guitarist Derek Bailey is extremely melodic, and Ornette Coleman. "

" I didn't want there to be a computer on stage. When I see people with computers on stage, I think, 'Are you sending e-mail?' That's so corny. "

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

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

" 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. "

" 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. "

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

" I hate the way chorus boxes sound. "