I Wanted To Make Somebody Feel Like

The Reason Why The Music [jazz] Is Important Is Because It's An Art Form-an Ancient Art Form-that Takes In The Mythology Of Our People.

I Think That Virtuosity Is The First Sign Of Morality In A Musician. It Means You're Serious Enough To Practice.

My Daddy Expected That My Brothers And I And Our Generation Would Make The World A Better Place. He Had Lived In An America Of Continual Social Progress.

I Remember When I Wrote A Piece, "blood On The Fields," It Was A While Ago, It Was About Slavery And About Two Characters, And I Studied So Much Of Music, I Would Always Go Back To The Original Documents, And As Much As I Can Get Original Chants And Slave Chants And Different Type Of Beats And Rhythms And Ring Shout.

As You Get Older - For Example, In Our Band We Have Members Of Our Orchestra, Like Carlos Enriquez And Ali Jackson And Walter Blanning. I Taught Them When They Were In High School, And Now They Teach Me.i'll Regularly Call Ali And Say, "man, Can You Break This Rhythm Down For Me?" Or Carlos Was Actually Our Music Director In Cuba, And He's Been Instrumental In A Lot Of My Education, And I Started To Develop A Saying With Them, Because They Tease Me All The Time - You Get Older, You Have That Familiar Relationship - I Say, "you Have To Follow Your Young Leadership, Too."