Some people really want to play Mozart and be just performers. I was more interested in invention.

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I wanted to be a pianist but it just wasn't my thing. I guess I wanted to stand up rather than sit down.

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Jazz is like wine. When it is new, it is only for the experts, but when it gets older, everybody wants it.

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Kenny G, I have to be grateful to him for proving that the instrument can be played all different kinds of ways.

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When I found the music of Monk I finally found music that fit that horn. Every one of his tunes fit it perfectly.

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If you're trying to invent something new, you're going to reach a lot of discouraging points, and most people give up.

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When I came up, it was all about originality and collective research. There is an awful lot of imitation going on now.

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People don't want to suffer. They want to sound good immediately, and this is one of the biggest problems in the world.

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What I learned with Cecil Taylor was strategy and survival and how to resist temptations and resist getting discouraged.

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It's very important to go through periods where you sound just rotten and you know it, and you have to persevere or give up.

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