As a young man in Washington, D.C., I was impressed by many fine local pianists, as well as by men like James P. Johnson and Luckey Roberts when they came visiting from New York. In those days, player pianos were extremely popular, and one of my major inspirations was a piano roll of "Carolina Shout" by Johnson. I also tried to copy the spectacular manner in which Luckey Roberts lifted his hands high above the keyboard as he played. Later, when I went to New York, I was enchanted by another pianist, Willie "The Lion" Smith, whose striking personality and individual style influenced me very much. My first real encounter with the New Orleans idiom came when I heard Sidney Bechet in my hometown [Washington DC] , and I have never forgotten the power and imagination with which he played. << less