He totally disagreed with it because he is, after all, living proof that the two are not mutually exclusive. Sure, you have to put in all those years learning, but the actual creative thing should come naturally.
People intellectualize it too much.
Playing music should be fun. I have a healthy appetite for music, food and life. His exuberance is contagious. A reliable, swinging, viable drummer, Erskine also has that outlaw edge that jazz music needs. It allowed him to thrive alongside the brilliant desperado bassist Jaco Pastorius with Weather Report.