I was able to work with the best musicians in Kansas City starting when I was really young

Most guys at Berklee are going to wind up truck drivers.

There's more bad music in jazz than any other form. Maybe that's because the audience doesn't really know what's happening.

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.

One very fundamental thing has not changed and I realized that it will never change... is that I really need to go home and practice.

As much as I have done collaborations over the years, I am actually kind of a reluctant partner.

I try to be prepared for the moment, through understanding, and being warmed up, knowing all about chords and scales, so I don't even have to think and I can get right to what it is I want to say.