Pat Metheny

If we are going to list guitar influences, the biggest one by far is Wes Montgomery. Also, Gary Burton was obviously huge for me in a number of ways. But beyond that, Clifford Brown, Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard.

From 1962 to 1965, the guitar became this icon of youth culture, thanks mostly to the Beatles.

I'm always trying to find 'connections' between things. That art is the juxtaposition of a lot of things that seem unrelated but add up to something recognizable.

I think I have a basic sound aesthetic that is in most of what I do.

I realized that equipment really had little to do with why I sound like the way I sound.

I hate the way chorus boxes sound.

I can't really say enough about Chris Potter. He is one of the greatest musicians I have ever known, and every second I have been on the band stand with him has been an absolute pleasure.

The guitar for me is a translation device. It's not a goal. And in some ways, jazz isn't a destination for me. For me, jazz is a vehicle that takes you to the true destination - a musical one that describes all kinds of stuff about the human condition and the way music works.

There are some musicians who are talented and see themselves as some kind of natural geniuses or something because of a certain amount of natural ability. But that is often rarely the case over the long term.

The beauty of jazz is that it's malleable. People are addressing it to suit their own personalities.

One of the things jazz has always excelled at is translating the reality of the times through its musical prism.

If you come to my house, you won't see a wall of trophies or things like that. I'm sort of 'on to the next thing' all the time.