Part 4/16:
He recounts how he soaked up the jazz scene—listening intensely, practicing hours daily, and absorbing the vocabularies of jazz legends by ear from records, especially West Montgomery’s solos. His admiration for jazz giants like Montgomery, Jimmy Rainey, and Jim Hall shaped his improvisational style, which emphasized melodic play and melodic minor scales, rather than conventional blues or rock scales. His early jazz exposure profoundly influenced his phrasing and approach, giving him a sophisticated edge that would later distinguish his rock playing.