“I'm aware of Yusef Lateef and Sun Ra and John Coltrane. My music cup runneth over. I try to encourage people: don't cut anything off, don't limit yourself. Give it a good listen: you might find something in that goofy Sun Ra noise, that dissonance. Before I learned 'official musicality' - which you should avoid at all costs - I listened to some Sun Ra and Yusef Lateef and John Coltrane and that's where 'Journey to the Center of the Mind' came from. When you intentionally and aggressively pursue musical communication with those powerfully impactful musical geniuses, you will pick up something.”
![“John [Coltrane] was like a visitor to this planet. He came in peace and he left in peace; but during his time here, he kept trying to reach new levels of awareness, of peace, of spirituality. That's why I regard the music he played as spiritual music -- John's way of getting closer and closer to…” quote by Albert Ayler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0ad/albert-ayler-43036_awareness_john-coltrane-was-like-a-visitor-to-this_12716.jpg)
![“In short, [Coltrane's] tone is beautiful because it is functional. In other words, it is always involved in saying something. You can't separate the means that a man uses to say something from what he ultimately says. Technique is not separated from its content in a great artist.” quote by Cecil Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/279/cecil-taylor-20434_art_in-short-coltrane-s-tone-is-beautiful-be_358656.jpg)
