I've always tried to be a poet more than anything else. I mean, professional musicians die.

The emphasis in each piece is on building a whole, totally integrated structure. In doing this, we try to carry on - in ensemble as well as solo sections - the mood of a jazz soloist. I mean that principle of kinetic improvisation that keeps a jazz solo building.

They say, 'We will give you money, but we want you to play this or that.' And I always thought, 'If I'm going to do that, I might as well go back and be a dishwasher.'

I understand about the relative strengths of people, and I don't think people have to be anything. They can be nothin' if they want to be.