The whole 'American Idol' way of looking at things is the antithesis of what I grew up with. There are a whole lot of kids wanting to be famous now, whereas if I'd even mentioned that word to one of my teachers, I would have got into a whole load of trouble.

In my life I find that memories of the spirit linger and sweeten long after memories of the brain have faded.

If your record doesn't sell that well, man, who cares? All the satisfaction I need... comes when I step out onstage and see the people. That's awesome. I love that.

They don't make you what you are, you do. You are what you choose to be.

You basically have to play everything (in New Orleans), because you're getting calls to play gigs of all different styles, from classical to R&B to funk; modern jazz to traditional jazz.

All I really want - when I pray , I don't really ask for anything. All I want to do is God's will and make the best decisions I can. I don't go out and preach.

I married my best friend. And I listen! Ultimately I've been very fortunate - I understand that that doesn't happen for everybody but it happened for us and we take it very seriously.