In fact, I heard Bird first, and had got well into listening to him. You know, it's the kind of accidental thing that awareness of a player is: what's available, what somebody happens to play for you.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
When you play, it's like you know that there are people out there who are hearing it for the first time, and I think that's really important.
I just got to hear every note. After I left Birdland, I started working at the Jazz Gallery. In the end, I still couldn't play, but I knew how to listen. I was probably the world's best listener.
I've learned to say, 'I'm a friend of Big Bird. He even taught me how to sound like him.'
When you're playing, you're playing something for the world to hear.
This music that was supposed to only come from tapes like in any restaurant. Something would happened. One bird will start to do a little jazz thing, and another bird will start to answer.
A lot of black guys always ask me, 'Did Larry Bird really play that good?' I said, 'Larry Bird is so good it's frightening.'
Hear the birds? Sometimes I like to pretend that I'm deaf and I try to imagine what it's like not to be able to hear them. It's not that bad.
I've known since I went to the national team when I was very young that I was a different bird.
One thing we were looking for from the start was players who really fit together, who sounded in tune.
No bird has ever uttered note That was not in some first bird's throat; Since Eden's freshness and man's fall No rose has been original.