Going to Morocco was massive; that's where I really found music which had the African syncopation and swing mixed with Arabic strains, and together they had this transporting, bittersweet quality.

The closer you get to the source, the more you begin to understand its essential nature.

I always wanted to know what the music behind some music was, or where it came from, and that gave me a point of reference for understanding the music I was listening to.

One of my interests is to understand what constitutes the vibe of a place and what makes one concert different from another.

I think entertainment is a perfectly noble occupation.

In a lot of African instruments, you find a rattle, and sound engineers have a hard time making sense of it.

On a very technical level, I am a geek who is interested in the intricacy of rhythm playing, so I like comparing and working out its details.