The light went on when I heard Phil [woods] play, and I went like, "That is why I'm playing the instrument." So… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I feel very similarly. I didn't have necessarily the same exact kind of dynamic, but that means a lot when people are… — 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
I wasn't expecting [the Monk competition] would necessarily do that. So I just did what I did and some good things continued… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
A guy like Scott [Robinson] plays the whole history of music on every instrument you've ever heard of. He's just kind of… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I would sit in at a jazz brunch [at sweet Basil] with Eddie Chamblee, who was a great tenor player. Really a… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I never got to play with Art [ Blakey], but he was kind and spoke to me a number of times. He… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
What I feel the most confident about as a teacher, whatever my strengths and weaknesses are. The fact that I got to… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
When I heard Charlie Parker the first time on a record, it had seemed like an old, scratchy kind of record and… — 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
Alan [Ferber] is a great trombonist and composer. I'm thankful that I got some associations like that through peers and former students.… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I remember [Joe] Lovano came around to me at that time [of Monk competition]. And I had taken some lessons with Joe… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
[Charles McPherson] was kind enough to go to a record gig of mine where we recorded a song of his. — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
A man goes to the village to visit the wise man and he says to the wise man, “I feel like there… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
[Charlie Parker] was kind of a sponge and intrigued by it all.That's similar to what Phil [Woods] told me about Bird, too.… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
A lot of musicians have said things to me like, "Music saved my life". And "I'm standing on the shoulders of dozens… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I was able to go over [Saxophone Competition] and work a little more in Europe. I'm thankful that those of kinds of… — 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 Image
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 Image
“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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image
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 Image