Art was carrying me a lot of the time. When you're accustomed to playing with Art, and you play with other drummers, it's as if the bottom dropped out. ↗
He would catapult you forward, and that was his intention with the Jazz Messengers. He would take young people with a potential and help them develop a voice as a player and as a writer. ↗
I'm naturally going to react to that and he'll bring out elements in my musical character that were lying dormant, because I'm relating what he's playing. ↗
Just to be around that, to feel a part of it and be able to integrate the experience while I was with the Messengers, of going and playing gigs with other drummers, gave me the chance to realize that it was not just me that was making it happen. ↗
We have fun, we listen to one another, we challenge one another, we trust one another. We're doing what we enjoy, and we're not just playing for each other, we're playing for the people. ↗
You know, there're no rules between Russell and I. We don't want to have to have to talk too much, because it's really precious, really special to play music. ↗
James Brown was one of the first artists who found four bars that he liked and played them the entire way through, and then he just added to it vocally. ↗
I always wondered if there was a purpose to the universe, if there was a plan, if there was some sort of organizing factor, hopefully that I played a role in. ↗
All of my activities are so pedestrian. The extreme sport I play is ping pong. And we play it hard. If any of you suckers want to step up to the table, be ready. ↗
