The blessing of this music is that it is fun to do and it keeps evolving.

I don't care if my lettuce has DDT on it, just as long as it's crisp.

If you make the same mistake 3 times, that becomes ‘your arrangement’

We do a wealth of stuff (live), drawing from over the years.

I'm not sure I ever pleased Ian [Buchanan] with my progress, but he continued to tolerate me. I had to work at everything that I did. Well, it wasn't work; it was fun actually.

I liken feedback to the effect of when you go surfing; you can get pummeled by a wave, but if you balance the forces right, you can have a dandy ride ... that's pretty much what feedback is.

My dad was president of the Finlandia Foundation for a number of years and there was a period of time when he tried to get me in. I'm glad I finally got in.

With the bass it's another thing. I don't need to use alternate thumb-picking as much. Even though Jack says he loves it. My thought is that it might irritate him somewhat.

I don't think it is as much a human foible as it is a human curse that we cannot understand the beauty of a thing until it is gone.

He was the sort of man who only wanted to be told what he already assumed was true.

I think best with a pencil in my hand.

Ironically, the people who do not need Israel are gradually taking over Israel, and they're actually pushing out people who so need it.

Everything in New Orleans was competitive. People would always be betting on who was the best and the greatest in everything. That's where the battles of music came in.

I am convinced that much more emphasis should be placed on history. The purpose of history is to learn how human beings react when exposed to the danger of wounds or death.

The power to define the situation is the ultimate power.

All I have I would have given gladly not to be standing here today.

I consider a merchant someone who has a certain intuition and instinct, and - very important - knows how to run a business, knows the numbers.