Although I made a few jazz recordings in the mid 60s in Czechoslovakia and a live jazz trio album in Munich in 1968, my first real record contract in 1974 came as a result of the breakup of Mahavishnu Orchestra. It was with Nemperor Records (Atlantic) and the first release was The First Seven Days.

Q: Being able to record in your own studio without additonal musicians, do you miss collaborating with some of the great artists you have worked with in the past?

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Q: What do you think about the wave of teen acts out there right now?

The sheer number of soundalike/lookalike acts tells you a lot about the self defeating cloning approach the record companies have been following for a long time now. It makes it nearly impossible to break through with something unique or original.

Q: What other composers' scores do you like the most?

John Williams- JFK, Carter Burwell-Fargo, Giorgio Moroder-Midnight Express.

Q: What is your favorite movie?

Doctor Zhivago.

Q:Would you encourage your own children to pursue careers in music?

Music is essential to a well rounded education. It enhances your capacity to feel as well as think. My kids are actively involved in music every day. When it comes to a career, though, that's a much harder call. Given the state of the music business today, depending on music to make a living can be almost like playing lottery. Still, if they wanted it more than anything else, I would do my level best to even their odds.

Q: Digital samples are truly amazing these days and you, more than most, seem able to convincingly capture the essence of a wide variety of instruments using them.  What is the key to doing so?

Learning the unique language and vocabulary of each instrument by listening and feel, and then making it a natural and almost invisible part of your playing technique... I guess.

Follow-up: What instruments do you think haven't been truly captured yet by the digital technology?

All of them. Close, but we still have work to do. On the other hand, maybe that is not the real purpose of digital musical instruments, since they have so much more to offer as an alternative or an addition to acoustic sounds.

Q: What was it like working with Jeff Beck? 

When you consider that Jeff and I come from diametrically opposed backgrounds (jazz and classical for me, rock for Jeff) it's amazing how much we had in common once we  started playing together. The best example is how similar our approach to melodic improvisation really is.

Q: Would you ever consider joining a band again? 

Anything is possible - never say never!

Q: How is the mental process you use for composing film scores different than for composing songs for, say, an album? Obviously the musical product will be quite different, but my question deals more with the inspiration you draw upon for your ideas rather than the resulting format.

In film scoring the inspiration for the most part comes from your emotional response to the images and story you see on the screen. Writing free standing music on the other hand  is a bit more mysterious and involuntary. You have to be ready and know what to do when the inspiration strikes you, but a lot of it still comes from your feelings and reactions to  the outside world.

Q: When composing and recording how do you select sounds?

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Q: Who was your biggest musical influence? 

Miles Davis

Q: What are your personal favorite keyboards?

Over the years I played pretty much every keyboard on earth but I always gravitated to the cutting edge and the "new thing".  Twenty years ago that mostly meant ridiculously expensive custom designed rigs, but for the last ten years or so the best "new things" tend to come from KORG. Right now my three favorites are Triton, Z1, and Trinity.

Q: In your travels on tour is there any one particular city, venue or location which is especially memorable?

One tour that I will never forget was the tour of New Zealand and Australia, both for incredible natural beauty as well as amazingly friendly people. They draw you into their world and make you feel like you've known them for years. 

As far as a venue is concerned it would have to be the Olympia in Paris. The place has an atmosphere and sense of cultural/pop history that you could hardly find anywhere else. 

Q: Do you have any specific memories of a "nightmare gig"? 

Yes, it happened at the Park West in Chicago. I was using one of my "fancy" custom built rigs that I mentioned earlier. Unfortunately it was never properly "shaken down" for road worthiness. The gig was being recorded for a later broadcast (!) and right at the climax of a long solo intro to the song Darkness, as the the rest of band is about to come crashing in, my lovely custom synth rig goes on the fritz. All you hear is one unpleasant hanging note. It doesn't get any worse than that. 

Q: Are there any old, rare or unreleased recordings you know of which might surface at a future date? 

As you can imagine there was a lot music recorded on lots of different formats over the years. Some are cassette bootlegs, some are pristine multitracks. We are now going through the archives and there will definitely be some surprises popping up from time to time. 

Q: How did your collaboration with Mick Jagger originally come about? 

I met Mick in London while I was working on some new tunes for Jeff Beck. Later that spring Mick called from the Bahamas to come down to Compass Point Studios and play on his first solo album. It was a revelation for me to work with and watch someone you might reasonably expect after all these years of being a legend and rock icon to be jaded and blasé about the whole thing turn out to be the exact opposite. He put an amazing amount of energy and focus into it from the very first rehearsal run-through.

Q: What are your hobbies outside of music?  What sports do you like or play, or what books do you read?

I'm an auto racing fanatic, I follow all kinds of racing, like CART and NASCAR, but my favorite is Formula 1.  As far as participating in sports I'm into skiing and tennis.  For reading nothing beats Sunday's New York Times.

Q: What music do you listen to?

Anything, depending on mood or need.  Classical (Bach, Beethoven, Chopin or Janacek), jazz (Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Coltrane) or rock (Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Police).

Q: What recent musicians, if any, do you most admire?

Alanis Morisette, Sheryl Crow, Kurt Cobain

Q: If you could play in your all-time "dream band" who would be in
the lineup?

Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Colin Hodgkinson, Tony Williams.

Q: Can you name one musician past or present whom you would most liked have worked with?

John Lennon - even though sometimes I have a hard time imagining what I could add.

Q: What are your favorite three songs that you have written and what are your favorite three albums of all time?

Crockett's Theme (Escape From Television - MCA), Coming Back Home (Drive - Miramar), Plants And Trees (First Seven Days - Nemperor).

Beatles - Rubber Soul, Miles Davis - Sorcerer, Jimi Hendrix - Band Of Gypsies.