Photo and interview by Steve Korn
Fear is an opportunity to be proud of your self later.
If I could do it all over again I would have practiced more.
Your audience is smarter than you think.
I’m happy whenever I’m listening to Otis Redding.
Less is more because that’s where beauty, interaction, playfulness and nuance live.
Music has taught me that endless pursuits are the best kind.
My parents were completely supportive of my every creative whim.
Practice makes me feel calm and prepared for the unexpected.
Some of my best ideas come to me while I am playing music with friends.
The thing that makes me nervous on stage is a drunk and aggressive person in the audience who really wants my attention.
When I look at where I’m at right now, I think I am ok. I probably should have practiced more, but I like the musical experiences I’ve had.
The future of jazz is in great shape. I love the people I’m playing with, the groups I hear in clubs, and the new music that is coming out.
When I’m performing well, it feels like my brain has been replaced with bees, my chest has been replaced with a bass drum, and my ears are being used by the other people on the bandstand.
Improvisation is the only time in my life when I can keep my brain clear and stop it from stewing about unimportant things.
Right now, I’m focusing on finding some nice tunes to play on clarinet.
If I could have made a career on another instrument, it would have been piano. After that, maybe guitar so I could get in on some country gigs.
Motivation is something I can’t control. Sometimes I don’t experience it for weeks and then suddenly, it’s there.
I cried when I got to sit next to Ray Charles and he started sing the first few lines to the verse of “They Can’t Take That Away From Me”.….it was a little more soul than I was expecting.
