the Family Tree

What amazed me most was all the hard work and memories. It was a new experience for me to listen to much of this music. The tracks are from my entire career, not just my colo career.

In one sense, it was very weird to rediscover this music. At the same time, it was something I needed to do. It shows how I got from there to here, it shows my learning curves, it shows how I’ve developed as a musician.

I spent six months digging through my archives. While it didn’t feel like hard work at the time, it was hard work listening to my old recordings, kind of like doing homework.

For me, working on ’Family Tree’ was like spring cleaning, complete with nostalgic, boring and mushy moments. But ultimately, it was liberating to have an absolutely clean attic. Now, I have a brand-new chalkboard on which to work.

Billboard, 17 oct 2002