Music taught me how to always be patient and focused, and to train the little concentration in myself.

Nobody wants to experience sad events but people like to listen to sad songs. That's the beauty of music.

The way to respect all the people I love is to eat the music, have it in my blood and bones, and try to explore it in as much different ways as possible to create my own identity.

Travelling is very difficult, you have to go to places with different climates and time zones. Travelling like that every single day through the year is definitely not healthy, but that's something I have to sacrifice if I want to play music.

I started to listen to Japanese jazz musicians when I went to high school. Some people I listened to were Yosuke Yamashita, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Sadao Watanabe.

I'm always hungry to learn. I always look for something that I can study.

I really think that martial arts and music are very close to each other and both require a lot of focus and improvisation because you don't know where or when you're going to get kicked!