Bone2Pick Interviews

You want to play Salsa . . . LISTEN TO THE CONGA!

The phone rings in my office. It’s Rudy Van Gelder! He says . . . did you write Basically Blues . . . yes I did . . . well Buddy Rich just recorded it. Where do we send the check?

Richard Galliano, the world’s greatest accordionist, hired me to play piano and accordion, which obviously made me the world’s second greatest accordionist!

You can create a lot of great opportunities for yourself as a musician if you just make stuff.

For the record, if anyone on Broadway or in LA says it’s going to be easy, you have to assume it’s going to be the hardest thing in the world!

The oboe solos were Madonna’s idea.

If you look at someone standing in front of a big band, they probably wrote a check for the privilege.

Just being in New York and playing music is successful.

It would not surprise me if in the next hundred years a future John Coltrane is a trombone player.

If you want to play small group you better start playing in a big band.

Mike got stuck with the clarinet. After we had been playing for a couple years, we used to get together in the bathroom ‘cause we liked the echo. We would just play free . . . we didn't know much about chord changes at that age.

The head went by in about 4 seconds, they pushed me up to the microphone and the rhythm section stopped!