When I Was First Aware That I

So Often People Will Say That I Converted To The Catholic Religion. This Is False. Although I Was Raised As A Protestant, I Was Never Baptized And Had Never Been A Member Of Any Church. I Joined The Roman Catholic Church After I Had Written My Mass To Hope!during The Night I Dreamt The Entire Lord's Prayer With Chorus And Orchestra. I Jumped Out Of Bed And Wrote Down What I Had Heard As Accurately As I Could Remember. Because Of This Event I Decided That I Might As Well Join The Catholic Church Because Someone Somewhere Was Pulling Me Toward That End.

Many People Don't Understand How Disciplined You Have To Be To Play Jazz... And That Is Really The Idea Of Democracy - Freedom Within The Constitution Or Discipline. You Don't Just Get Out There And Do Anything You Want.

Jazz Isn't Dead Yet. It's The Underpinning Of Everything In This Country. Whether It's A Broadway Show, Or Fusion, Or Right On Through Classical Music, If It's Coming Out Of The U.s., It's Not Going To Survive Unless It's Got Some Jazz Influence.

It's Like A Whole Orchestra, The Piano For Me. And Also It's To Me The Greatest Instrument. I Shouldn't Say That, But I Believe That This Is The Only Instrument I Can Really Feel Happy About Playing.

Jazz Stands For Freedom. It's Supposed To Be The Voice Of Freedom: Get Out There And Improvise, And Take Chances, And Don't Be A Perfectionist - Leave That To The Classical Musicians.