I have to say, music was always my self preservation survival technique. This sort of sacred space in my life and in my mind.

I heard these stories [about musicians from my mother] and somehow music, it was my understanding what my father had done. I didn't know it was misinformation. It sort of inwardly in my psyche laid the template for music being affiliated with my father and my family.

Negative thoughts are the nails that build a prison of failure.

We had a great educator [in the school band], a man named Larry Laurenzano. He was tough, but we knew that he loved us. And that was the beginning of playing music with people and really being inspired and having fun and being in a community.

Adversity is not a dead end but a detour to a better outcome than you can imagine!

Great leaders don't succeed because they are great. They succeed because they bring out the greatness in others.

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