I Had A 10-year Heroin Habit And

I Had A 10-year Heroin Habit And Kicked That. Then I Became An Alcoholic. I Drank Two Fifth's A Day.

When I Got This Saxophone, It Became A Religion. There Wasn't Tv, There Wasn't Much Money, And There Was Just A Real Dedication.... I Never Thought Of It As An Art. It Was Just Work That I Loved. Not Just Work, But Work That I Loved. I Loved It So Much, I Would Play It If Nobody Listened To It. Any Jazz Musician, If There's Nobody Around To Listen, Would Play Just For The Sheer Joy Of Improvising Music.

I Cannot Play A Lie. I Have To Believe In What I Play Or It Won't Come Out.

People Think That I Play Effortlessly. I Remember Doing A Record Date With Bill Evans And Afterwards He Said To Me, You Make It Sound So Easy But When I Get Right Up Next To You You're Working Hard And Making It Sound Easy!

I Never Consciously Tried To Conceive Of What My Sound Should Be.