I'm reaching a certain level [at school] that I had been aspiring to with all these incredibly advanced classical peers around me that I had been trying to be able to hang with them a little bit.

It's a complicated story [hoe I got into music ]. I actually wrote a book about it, titled For Sue.

If you think your best days are behind you, they are. If you think your best days are ahead of you, they are.

One negative person can create a miserable office environment for everyone else.

Many of the people I'm gratified to see have gotten acclaim like Mark Turner or Bill Charlap. Ed Simon or Maria Schneider or Jim McNeely or Scott Robinson. Ken Peplowski, who is a friend and somebody I admire a lot.

Letting people share their gifts and strengths is real love.

Being positive won’t guarantee you’ll succeed. But being negative will guarantee you won’t.