Avant-garde, jazz, pop, classical, country and western, rock, free, straight-ahead, etc. are ultimately meaningless terms in the face of the music being discussed at best - at worst, those terms often serve as code words for what is in fact a cultural / political discussion more than a musical one.

My older brother Mike is an excellent trumpet player. By the time he was 12, he was playing around Kansas City in classical situations. He was already an amazing talent.

I think jazz is actually quite unforgiving in its disdain for nostalgia. It demands creativity and change at its highest level.

There has to be a real strong reason to do something with someone for me.

I just have never seen anyone build anything significant in any field without having a deep and detailed sense of what they are building on.

Listening is the key to everything good in music.

I hate the way chorus boxes sound