Children are born with their own optimism. They have a clarity and a simplicity that we can only wish for.

My father was a jazz tenor sax player. He played in a lot of big bands. So I had that sound around me all the time. The first record that really caught my ear was Clifford Brown's 'Brownie Eyes.' I grew up listening to John Coltrane and Illinois Jacquet. This is where I come from... I love improvisational music.

Once you encounter people who are really testing the limits of kindness, that's when you start to build up a shield and close yourself down.

Your government has problems...my government has problems. I can't be a judge. All I can do is be an ambassador of love. I'm a musician, not a soldier, and if I'm invited to a place in order to play and bring love, I'll always accept the invitation.

Madonna is interesting. She changed music. She definitely did. She gave me an opportunity that no one else would give me, so I am very grateful to her.

There's no hierarchy in suffering. I think songs that are transcendent are the ones where everyone can feel something from it, you know?

I'm always tryin' to do something new, tryin' to look like a beginner.