Base men who prosper are unenviable.
The academic area of new music or modern music festivals is not something which attracts me at all.
There's another way of making music, by touching the lives and feelings of ordinary people.
The virtuoso element in jazz playing, all those very fast runs in the upper extremes, simply doesn't appeal to me. That's why I don't want to make my concerto "virtuosic" in the sense of a technical show-off. I want a beautiful sound and a melodic and lyrical line. I am more interested in the way someone can play musically.
Music history has flowed under the bridges for many years.
I remember once, when I started writing for the alto saxophone, a saxophonist told me to think of it as being like a cross between an oboe and a viola, but louder.
Writing tonal music now, you are not writing into the 19th Century.
One thing is certain: wherever the enemy lands, if once we can get to grips with him on the Continent, where we are not dependent on supplies from overseas, that ought to be, and will be, all right with us.
The gap between the rich and the poor is the most dangerous threat to world peace we have.
This is an exciting time for farmers and ranchers of all types and sizes as agriculture is a bright spot in the American economy. In 2011, agricultural exports hit a record high and producers saw their best incomes in nearly 40 years.
I'm a better husband and father than I was a killer.