I Try To Practice With My Life.

One Thing That Sticks In My Mind Is That Jazz Means Freedom And Openness. It's A Music That, Although It Developed Out Of The African American Experience, Speaks More About The Human Experience Than The Experience Of A Particular People.

I Don't Think There Are Any Pure Africans Of The African Americans, But The African Part Of Our History Was Pretty Much Taken Away From Us During Slavery, So The 60s Gave Us A Chance, Because Of The Civil Rights Movement, To Kind Of Re-examine And Make Some Sort Of Formal Connection To Our African-ness.

Don't Be Afraid To Expand Yourself, To Step Out Of Your Comfort Zone. That's Where The Joy And The Adventure Lie.

You Can Practice To Learn A Technique, But I'm More Interested In Conceiving Of Something In The Moment.

Oscar Peterson Is The Greatest Living Influence On Jazz Pianists Today.