I Improvised My Life Along The Way

You Want Your Parents To Say, "hey, I'm Proud Of You." When You Don't Hear That, You Learn To Compensate. You Say, "hell, I Don't Need Their Approval. If I Get My Music Right, I'll Have Everyone Else's Approval." I Didn't Understand It Then, But I Now Know That's What Happened To Me.

Count Basie Practically Adopted Me At 13. We Became Closer And Closer And I Ended Up Conducting For Him And Sinatra.

What Happens When You Get A Big Break And You Haven't Prepared Yourself? That Becomes The Biggest Mistake You've Ever Made. I See It Happen All The Time.

I Got A Scholarship To Seattle University And I Was Writing Arrangements For Singers And Everybody. But The Music Course Was Too Dry And I Really Wanted To Get Away From Home.

Music Was The One Thing I Could Control. It Was The One World That Offered Me Freedom. When I Played Music, My Nightmares Ended. My Family Problems Disappeared. I Didnt Have To Search For Answers. The Answers Lay No Further Than The Bell Of My Trumpet And My Scrawled, Pencilled Scores. Music Made Me Full, Strong, Popular, Self-reliant And Cool.