I approach music in much the same way as I approach painting. Ironically, however, I feel that with music I take greater advantage of what I feel to be its inherently visual nature.  Sounds are colors, textures and settings. They are landscapes and dream worlds, motions and gestures, forms and shapes. People tend to accept the fact that music is inherently abstract, a quality that gives the artist a lot of latitude. This is something I try to capitalize on by being as specific as I can with my musical imagery.

- James Tafel Shuster