Walter Becker

It's a mystery to me why everybody doesn't love jazz. I've never been able to figure that out.

What about that Dave Brubeck live album, with a version of 'Like Someone in Love' on it, and long sax solos by Paul Desmond? That's what got me hooked on jazz.

I love guys like Charlie Parker.

With any relationship that goes on and is productive over a long period, there have to be some sort of interlocking qualities in those personalities that make it possible to survive.

I guess actually playing on the records and touring is a great forced practice regimen for me. And you learn a lot playing with people.

There was a time in my life when one aspect of my lifestyle called for watching a lot of television.

I'm glad we turned into a big-time touring band later in life. In fact, it's almost like we planned it out that way.

The protagonist in 'Deacon Blues' is a triple-L loser - an L-L-L Loser. It's not so much about a guy who achieves his dream but about a broken dream of a broken man living a broken life.

I always look for the weirdest note to land on. I felt that that was the least I could do for the great musical traditions which I've spawned.

What gets people into trouble with records now is that they want to build something up without substantial musical ideas. Without that as a foundation, you can add all the layers of sound you want - it's still going to sound like a mess.

Deacon Blues' was special for me. It's the only time I remember mixing a record all day and, when the mix was done, feeling like I wanted to hear it over and over again. It was the comprehensive sound of the thing: the song itself, its character, the way the instruments sounded, and the way Tom Scott's tight horn arrangement fit in.

Cynicism, I contend, is the wailing of someone who believes that things are, or should be, or could be, much, much better than they are.