Sonny Rollins

that if it wasn't for music, life wouldn't be worthwhile living.

I mean, I'm sort of paraphrasing what he said, but if I don't play for a little while, I get physically sick.

If I don't play my horn for a while, for a few days or whatever, I actually begin to get sick, and I wonder, well, gee, what's the matter with me?

Then I realize, well, I haven't played my horn for a few days.

Well, no, not really.

No, no, I don't think.

That's why I really practice and I keep these exercises and so on, because when I'm actually on the stage and performing, the optimum condition is not to think.

I just want the music to play itself.

I don't want to have to think about it.

If I have to think about what I'm doing, then...

the moment is already gone, you know?

Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.

So there are certain times when actually it's an out-of-body experience, so to speak.

Mm-hmm.

Well, you know, when you play a reed instrument, and this might be true with other instruments as well, but when you play a reed instrument, you have to deal with your ombiture, which is the position of your lips around your teeth in the instrument and the mouthpiece of the instrument.

And this has to form a sort of a cushion.

And if you don't play for a while, what will happen is that you're

Lips would bleed when you play.

And even split.

Your lip might split.