I remember [Joe] Lovano came around to me at that time [of Monk competition]. And I had taken some lessons with Joe and I had seen Joe on the scene. He had always been so great to me, such and inspiration and so kind. One lesson that I had with Joe was just amazing. I'm just such a fan and an admirer of his on every level. He was like, "Don't worry... you're just out here. You just do what you're doing. Don't worry if it doesn't make you a household name or anything."

Sense of community was really fostered by Larry Laurenzano, who was a great educator.

Negative people often tend to create negative cultures whereas positive corporate cultures are created by positive people.

My mother was a singer, and I never heard her sing a note in my life.

The more energy you spend worrying about the people who didn't get on your bus, the less you will have for the people who are on your bus. And if you are worrying about the people who didn't get on your bus you won't have the energy to keep on asking new people to get on.

I went in [Sweet Basil band] and played with them, maybe half the gig for almost eight years or more.

A true leader doesn't lead to gain power. They lead to empower and give power away.