[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
I was really falling in love with jazz and dedicating myself in that direction. — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
It's a complicated story [hoe I got into music ]. I actually wrote a book about it, titled For Sue. — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I never really had a classical saxophone set-up. I just had a middle of the road set up. — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I think that's important to remember - That we're blessed to even be able to attempt to do this [music]. — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
You do [jazz] because you love it and hope many some others may as well. You do this because you need it. — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
When I was 13, 14, 15, I had played in a couple of jazz ensembles. I didn't know anything about harmony, about… — 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… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
We listened [with my mother] to [Frank] Sinatra and Glen Campbell and we had some Beatles records that I liked. This was… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I saw that [music] reflected in my mother when we listened to these records [of Bob Gordon]. And I felt it too. — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
[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
[My mother told me] stories about Nat King Cole, and Miles Davis, and seeing pictures in later years with band leaders like… — 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… — 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
When we hear music that we love that changes the world for us, we might as well at least aspire to something… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
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… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I was [ on Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition] with Ralph Bowen, and Joel Frahm, Jimmy Greene, John Ellis. You can't play… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
We spent all day together [with Phil Wood] at that one particular lesson, which was maybe the third or fourth lesson, in… — 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
Sometimes I would go on Sundays and play with Doc Cheatham. I was also playing in a band of teenagers led by… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I heard these stories [about musicians from my mother] and somehow music, it was my understanding what my father had done. I… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I did, I was in Europe a lot. I would say, mid 20s to late 30s. Less so in the last ten… — 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
[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
Percy France told me, similarly, he and Bird used to hang out. They were good buddies. And he said, "Man, we'd just… — 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
Ernie Hayes, Jimmy Lewis, and either Belton Evans or Khalil Mahdi on drums [were in Sweet Basil]. All those guys really took… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
Now we also need people who just love to listen to the music. And we need people that want to work to… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
When I was a kid, I always saw these pictures of a man called Bob Gordon with a baritone saxophone, who I… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
There are a lot of different ways you can be a part of this music and love it and make a contribution… — 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 think we had a Ben Webster/Gerry Mulligan record... that might have been it. We only had a few records in the… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
Sometimes you think "Okay, well I'm going to play my horn, and I'm going to study Charlie "Bird" Parker solos or [John… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
I was studying with Joe Allard, which was great, as a saxophone student. Being able to study with Joe Allard was an… — Jon Gordon Copy Share Image
We [with my mother] listened to music when I was a kid. We listened to a little bit of Bob's [Gordon] music,… — 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
![“I was in choir [at school].” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/7a7/jon-gordon-1655_choir_i-was-in-choir-at-school-2164567_2164567.jpg)
![“[Charles McPherson] was kind enough to go to a record gig of mine where we recorded a song of his.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/21c/jon-gordon-1655_enough_charles-mcpherson-was-kind-enough-to-go_2291176.jpg)
![“It's a complicated story [hoe I got into music ]. I actually wrote a book about it, titled For Sue.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/266/jon-gordon-1655_book_it-s-a-complicated-story-hoe-i-got-into_1810963.jpg)
![“I think that's important to remember - That we're blessed to even be able to attempt to do this [music].” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/29f/jon-gordon-1655_able_i-think-that-s-important-to-remember-tha_1307024.jpg)
![“You do [jazz] because you love it and hope many some others may as well. You do this because you need it.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/289/jon-gordon-1655_hope_you-do-jazz-because-you-love-it-and-hope_1884919.jpg)
![“When I was 13, 14, 15, I had played in a couple of jazz ensembles. I didn't know anything about harmony, about II-V-I, though I had learned my scales with Caesar [DiMauro].” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/7d4/jon-gordon-1655_couple_when-i-was-13-14-15-i-had-played-in-a-co_2097195.jpg)
![“We listened [with my mother] to [Frank] Sinatra and Glen Campbell and we had some Beatles records that I liked. This was in the '70s.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d11/jon-gordon-1655_frank_we-listened-with-my-mother-to-frank-sina_351080.jpg)
![“I saw that [music] reflected in my mother when we listened to these records [of Bob Gordon]. And I felt it too.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/539/jon-gordon-1655_bob_i-saw-that-music-reflected-in-my-mother_2694864.jpg)
![“[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/quotes/img-quotes/196/jon-gordon-1655_band_manhattan-school-of-music-didn-t-have-a_2867269.jpg)
![“[My mother told me] stories about Nat King Cole, and Miles Davis, and seeing pictures in later years with band leaders like Alvino Ray.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/e42/jon-gordon-1655_band_my-mother-told-me-stories-about-nat-king_1548773.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/quotes/img-quotes/6c2/jon-gordon-1655_firsts_manhattan-school-of-music-were-kind-of-j_2051074.jpg)
![“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 a leader and had the original versions of Daahoud and Joy Spring that were arranged by Bob's best friend, the West Coast tenor player named Jack Montrose, who I…” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/fdd/jon-gordon-1655_believe_we-had-bob-s-gordon-records-and-he-s-on_213132.jpg)
![“I was [ on Thelonious Monk International Saxophone Competition] with Ralph Bowen, and Joel Frahm, Jimmy Greene, John Ellis. You can't play the saxophone better than any of those guys play. So many of those things that those guys could do I wish I could do now, let alone then.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3bb/jon-gordon-1655_competition_i-was-on-thelonious-monk-international-s_843648.jpg)
![“We spent all day together [with Phil Wood] at that one particular lesson, which was maybe the third or fourth lesson, in from 11:00 in the morning to 11:00 at night. We often did a lot of varied things. It wasn't just about jazz language and the saxophone.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/5f5/jon-gordon-1655_fourth_we-spent-all-day-together-with-phil-wood_2211142.jpg)
![“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/quotes/img-quotes/3c7/jon-gordon-1655_art_i-was-finishing-up-at-high-school-of-per_2762115.jpg)
![“I heard these stories [about musicians from my mother] and somehow music, it was my understanding what my father had done. I didn't know it was misinformation. It sort of inwardly in my psyche laid the template for music being affiliated with my father and my family.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/84c/jon-gordon-1655_done_i-heard-these-stories-about-musicians-fr_2640766.jpg)
![“[Charlie Parker] was kind of a sponge and intrigued by it all.That's similar to what Phil [Woods] told me about Bird, too. Like he was into cooking. He was just into a lot of things. Yeah, it's about dealing with bebop and jazz and Trane [John Coltrain] and post-Trane and knowing the history. But…” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a35/jon-gordon-1655_art_charlie-parker-was-kind-of-a-sponge-and_2500883.jpg)
![“[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/quotes/img-quotes/d1a/jon-gordon-1655_asks_charlie-bird-parker-would-sit-down-and-a_1110923.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/quotes/img-quotes/275/jon-gordon-1655_art_justin-di-cioccio-was-at-laguardia-schoo_2555432.jpg)
![“Ernie Hayes, Jimmy Lewis, and either Belton Evans or Khalil Mahdi on drums [were in Sweet Basil]. All those guys really took care of me.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/400/jon-gordon-1655_basil_ernie-hayes-jimmy-lewis-and-either-belto_200776.jpg)
![“I would sit in at a jazz brunch [at sweet Basil] with Eddie Chamblee, who was a great tenor player. Really a kind man. The whole band was great.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bc6/jon-gordon-1655_band_i-would-sit-in-at-a-jazz-brunch-at-sweet_1147668.jpg)
![“Sometimes you think "Okay, well I'm going to play my horn, and I'm going to study Charlie "Bird" Parker solos or [John Coltrain] or whatever." But as [Phil Wood] said to me, "Man, Bird listened to everything."” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/f4e/jon-gordon-1655_bird_sometimes-you-think-okay-well-i-m-going_2575076.jpg)
![“We [with my mother] listened to music when I was a kid. We listened to a little bit of Bob's [Gordon] music, but just a little, I think it was too painful for her.” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/9dc/jon-gordon-1655_bits_we-with-my-mother-listened-to-music-when_1286460.jpg)
