“On a basic level, this music led me to a deeper respect for myself. In order to improvise something meaningful, I had to find and express whatever I had inside of me worth sharing with other people. But at the same time it led me to a new awareness of others, because my freedom of expression was directly linked to the freedom of others on the bandstand. I had something to say, and so did they. The freer they were, the freer I could be, and vice versa. To be heard demanded that we also listened to one another. Closely. And to sound good we had to trust one another.”
