John [Coltrane] was extraordinary, an extraordinary talent, and I am blessed that I had a chance to spend some time with him, even though it was only for two months. We worked six nights a week, so it was an intense period of time for me and I’ll always cherish that time. John was very quiet and unassuming. At that time, he was straight as a pin. When he wasn’t eating or sleeping, he had the horn in his mouth, just completely dedicated to the music. He was very inspiring to me. I had never really seen that kind of intensity before, with the exception of Gunther Schuller. It was just great to be around him. You know, other people were getting high and chasing women and doing all sorts of other things. It was nice to see that kind of focus.