I just think that I associated music with something that was healing and transformative as a kid.

Hearing Sonny Rollins live... that was really amazing. There were so many things that really blew me away at that time [of schooling].

The best legacy you could leave is not some building that is names after you or a piece of jewelry but rather a world that has been impacted and touched by your presence, your joy, and your positive actions.

When you experience resistance, you find the lessons that you are meant to learn

Phil [Wood] was very passionate. Very committed. He felt very blessed that the people that cared about him and took him aside... if he was out of line or drinking too much, being too surly.

There are a lot of different ways you can be a part of this music and love it and make a contribution that's personal to you.

Sometimes you think "Okay, well I'm going to play my horn, and I'm going to study Charlie "Bird" Parker solos or [John Coltrain] or whatever." But as [Phil Wood] said to me, "Man, Bird listened to everything."