The line of horn players waiting to sit in with Elvin Jones looked like the line of people waiting to buy fish at Zabar’s.
We have that saying that studio/orchestra work is 95 percent boredom and 5 percent sheer terror for brass players.
I gave my notice to Buddy and he said to me, ‘Kid . . . I’ll make sure you never work another day in your life.’ I made more money that first night in Vegas than I did for a week on Buddy’s band.
Bud Herseth used to refer to me as a greenhorn. I was totally a greenhorn. I didn’t know one side of the trumpet from the other.
I’m known for my records and PBS specials, but I don’t have those without having Sting on board first.
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.
Playing with Gary and Chuck was like wearing a favorite pair of old shoes—things were just right.
