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I've been around jazz and jazz musicians most of my life.

So I was always around music and my dad was in his own way a progressive jazzer, a big band jazzer guy.

I was a kid living in New Jersey, who - I'd wanted to make movies since I was a little kid, so that came before music for me. But I started playing drums just as a hobby, and I wasn't even really into jazz that much.

I lived for music since I could think.

At a certain point, I became a kind of musician that has tunnel vision about jazz. I only listened to jazz and classical music.

I cut myself off from the mainstream of jazz. It stood me in good stead later on, as a musician.

I became a professional musician and played all kinds of music. I played bluegrass, I played classical music, and for many years, I played jazz.

I'd actually been making my living as an organist with bands since I was probably 15 or 16 years old, and then as a senior in high school I put together a jazz quintet called The Bobby Mack Jazz Quintet.

I wanted to play in a band, and I wanted to do music for a living, and that's what I dedicated my life to.

I was a drummer, and I did a little singing too.