“I got to talk to people like Mel [Lewis] and Milt Hilton and Benny Carter and Clark Terry and... Jay McShann. I just found myself in some circumstances, on some gigs or sometimes in clubs, with the ability to talk to some of these people. Just being around their energy and being around that history was invaluable. And what I normally say to young people that are getting into the music, if you can and go... now there's less of those folks around, sadly.”
![“I got to talk to people like Mel [Lewis] and Milt Hilton and Benny Carter and Clark Terry and... Jay McShann. I just found myself in some circumstances, on some gigs or sometimes in clubs, with the ability to talk to some of these people. Just being around their energy and being around that…” quote by Jon Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/661/jon-gordon-1655_ability_i-got-to-talk-to-people-like-mel-lewis-a_3052492.jpg)
![“I feel so lucky to have found two other, now three other musicians, that I can absolutely communicate with musically and believe in what they're doing almost 100% of the time. I've talked to a few [other] people in bands and that just isn't always the case.” quote by Theresa Wayman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/744/theresa-wayman-30913_band_i-feel-so-lucky-to-have-found-two-other_419584.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)
