You can practice to learn a technique, but I'm more interested in conceiving of something in the moment.

A great teacher is one who realizes that he himself is also a student and whose goal is not dictate the answers, but to stimulate his students' creativity enough so that they go out and find the answers themselves.

Jazz is a music that is open enough to borrow from any other form of music, and has the strength to influence any other form of music.

The spirit of jazz is the spirit of openness.

I got a chance to work with Miles Davis, and that changed everything for me, 'cause Miles really encouraged all his musicians to reach beyond what they know, go into unknown territory and explore. It's made a difference to me and the decisions that I've made over the years about how to approach a project in this music.

I don't go around, the way many musicians do, with earbuds in my ear listening to my iPod all day and just sticking my head in the music all the time.

Jazz has been the voice of freedom for so many countries over the past half century.