[Manhattan School Of Music] didn't' have a jazz undergraduate program at the time so I played a semester in the big band.… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I didn't always have time to practice as much as I wanted to do, that was a real problem for me in… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
[Manhattan School Of Music] were kind of just getting the jazz program up and going when I first started there. I was… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I asked all through third, fourth and fifth grade, when they were asking kids to be in the band, to be in… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I'm reaching a certain level [at school] that I had been aspiring to with all these incredibly advanced classical peers around me… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I was also sitting in from the middle of senior year of high school at Sweet Basil, it was a great club… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
Justin Di Cioccio led a jazz program at Music and Art, but there was no jazz in Performing Arts. After they joined,… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
We still talk about [school band]. Almost 40 years later. It's like people are talking about, "Man we need to have a… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
There are great jazz educators that I meet all the time. I met a guy named Paul Luchessi who has a high… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
We had a great educator [in the school band], a man named Larry Laurenzano. He was tough, but we knew that he… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
Families that I lived with a little bit in junior high and quite a bit in high school and college. Just to… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
A tenor player named Bud Revels there at the time. A lot of really nice associations amongst the students. Garry Dial was… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I was finishing up at High School of Performing Arts and finally, by the end of junior year and start of senior… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I got to perform the [Jaques] Ibert Concertino Da Camera with a brilliant pianist at school named Chunga. I got to perform… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I think what frustrated me more than anything else in my formative years was that I just had to work. I had… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I also met Charles McPherson around that time, end of high school. I was 17 and I had followed Phil around for… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
[Larry Laurenzano] gave me a junior high school saxophone to take to high school, because I was always taking one of our… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I left school December of 1988. I was 21 at the time. And I hadn't quite finished my degree because I had… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
[Charlie "Bird" Parker] would sit down and ask [Phil Wood], "What do you think about this whole secondary Viennese school with Schoenberg,… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
By the latter part of high school, by the middle of junior year in high school, Jay Rodriguez played me some Irakere… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
Justin [Di Cioccio] was [at Laguardia School of Arts]. He later took over at Manhattan. But I knew Justin through the McDonald's… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I had a lot of bad habits in how I was playing the horn. And I slowly, in high school and college,… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
Walk down Forest Ave to Joey's Pizza like we used to do after performances, which doesn't exist anymore. We had a sense… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I had a great year with Bob Mintzer [at Laguardia School of Arts]. Bob is great. We could have just brought the… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I finally got to junior high and I got to start saxophone. There were a few of us that were in the… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
Joe Henderson, who I maybe, to me, if I had to pick one improviser in my life that I saw live that blew my… — Jon Gordon Copy Share
Benny Carter came up to me and said to me, "You know, in the whole history of the alto, I think Phil is the… — Jon Gordon Copy Share
“know that I’m not a human being having a spiritual experience. I’m a spiritual being having a human experience.” — Jon Gordon Copy Share
It's very unlikely you're a genius, but, if you're ready to work at it hard and you want to listen to music all the… — Jon Gordon Copy Share
The first jazz cruise that I was on was '91. I played with Maria Schneider and John Fedchock's band. Got to meet some amazing… — Jon Gordon Copy Share
I just lucked into a lot of good people man. In my life and through friends, and in the music, that really embraced me… — Jon Gordon Copy Share
Every morning you have a choice. Are you going to be a positive thinker or a negative thinker? Positive thinking will energize you. — Jon Gordon Copy Share
I was occasionally getting calls for some things. But I would say, 22 to 29 was a lot of scuffling. Hoping to get called… — Jon Gordon Copy Share
There are a lot of people that impacted me. I remember hearing Oscar Peterson live at the Blue Note, which was very expensive, but...… — Jon Gordon Copy Share
There's a lot of good people out here that want to help you grow and to help the music to continue to grow and… — Jon Gordon Copy Share
Ernie Hayes, Jimmy Lewis, and either Belton Evans or Khalil Mahdi on drums [were in Sweet Basil]. All those guys really took care of… — Jon Gordon Copy Share
A true leader doesn't lead to gain power. They lead to empower and give power away. — Jon Gordon Copy Share
We had Bob's [Gordon] records, and he's on Clifford Brown's first record as a leader. I believe it was Clifford Brown's first record as… — Jon Gordon Copy Share
Another classical music teacher from Performing Arts that I've stayed in contact with is Jonathan Strasser. — Jon Gordon Copy Share
![“I was in choir [at school].” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/7a7/jon-gordon-1655_choir_i-was-in-choir-at-school-2164567_2164567.png)
![“[Manhattan School Of Music] didn't' have a jazz undergraduate program at the time so I played a semester in the big band. There was a graduate program. But I wasn't really that involved in jazz yet.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/196/jon-gordon-1655_band_manhattan-school-of-music-didn-t-have-a_2867269.jpg)
![“[Manhattan School Of Music] were kind of just getting the jazz program up and going when I first started there. I was 17 in September of 1984 when I started there.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/6c2/jon-gordon-1655_firsts_manhattan-school-of-music-were-kind-of-j_2051074.png)
![“I'm reaching a certain level [at school] that I had been aspiring to with all these incredibly advanced classical peers around me that I had been trying to be able to hang with them a little bit.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/949/jon-gordon-1655_able_i-m-reaching-a-certain-level-at-school-t_662774.png)
![“We still talk about [school band]. Almost 40 years later. It's like people are talking about, "Man we need to have a morning band reunion".” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/a1a/jon-gordon-1655_band_we-still-talk-about-school-band-almost-4_2935248.png)
![“We had a great educator [in the school band], a man named Larry Laurenzano. He was tough, but we knew that he loved us. And that was the beginning of playing music with people and really being inspired and having fun and being in a community.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/7dd/jon-gordon-1655_band_we-had-a-great-educator-in-the-school-ba_592776.png)
![“I was finishing up at High School of Performing Arts and finally, by the end of junior year and start of senior year, made some progress as a 16 year-old classical saxophone player. But not really... not like how the legit cats do. But I love the [Jacques] Ibert, love [Alexander] Glazunov, love…” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/3c7/jon-gordon-1655_art_i-was-finishing-up-at-high-school-of-per_2762115.png)
![“I got to perform the [Jaques] Ibert Concertino Da Camera with a brilliant pianist at school named Chunga. I got to perform the [Alexander] Glazunov Concerto in senior year with our school orchestra and the Jewish Grossman orchestra. I won a scholarship from the Goldman band to perform the [Paul]…” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/01e/jon-gordon-1655_band_i-got-to-perform-the-jaques-ibert-concer_3097906.png)
![“[Larry Laurenzano] gave me a junior high school saxophone to take to high school, because I was always taking one of our school horns home to practice and I couldn't afford to buy one. He gave my friend, Tyrone, a tuba and he gave me a junior high saxophone for each of us to use at Performing Arts…” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/217/jon-gordon-1655_art_larry-laurenzano-gave-me-a-junior-high-s_1950287.png)
![“[Charlie "Bird" Parker] would sit down and ask [Phil Wood], "What do you think about this whole secondary Viennese school with Schoenberg, Berg and Webern? Are you listening to that music and what do you feel about it?" These were the conversations that he was having. And he also said, what he…” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/d1a/jon-gordon-1655_asks_charlie-bird-parker-would-sit-down-and-a_1110923.png)
![“By the latter part of high school, by the middle of junior year in high school, Jay Rodriguez played me some Irakere records that that Paquito [D'Rivera] was on. And he also played me and our friend, Curtis Haywood, some Phil Woods records. And when I heard Phil, I just about lost my mind. I was…” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/b89/jon-gordon-1655_80s_by-the-latter-part-of-high-school-by-the_2544684.jpg)
![“Justin [Di Cioccio] was [at Laguardia School of Arts]. He later took over at Manhattan. But I knew Justin through the McDonald's band, which at the time I was finishing high school and starting college, I got involved with. I was not that heavily involved with the school at MSM my first year…” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/275/jon-gordon-1655_art_justin-di-cioccio-was-at-laguardia-schoo_2555432.jpg)
![“Walk down Forest Ave to Joey's Pizza like we used to do after performances, which doesn't exist anymore. We had a sense of community [in the school band].” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/b1b/jon-gordon-1655_band_walk-down-forest-ave-to-joey-s-pizza-lik_2834884.png)
![“I had a great year with Bob Mintzer [at Laguardia School of Arts]. Bob is great. We could have just brought the clarinet or dealt with classical stuff, or brought the flute or just dealt with comp and arranging... what a great teacher.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/q/img-quotes/3b9/jon-gordon-1655_arranging_i-had-a-great-year-with-bob-mintzer-at-l_493182.jpg)
