My brother died of cancer two years ago (1998), renal cell carcinoma. He was my only real brother and I didn't know what to do. I'd never been so desperate in my life.

If architecture is frozen music then music must be liquid architecture.

I'm never in my life going to do a record that's a tribute to myself. I don't need it.

My dream is to put together a performance of the evolution of black music with Cirque du Soleil . I would also like to do street opera and children's books. But even as I work toward these things, I want to simplify my life.

I've always thought that a big laugh is a really loud noise from the soul saying, "Ain't that the truth."

A lot of the guys were like that - Oscar Pettiford - they just took me under their wing, and that's why I automatically help young people. I just love it, because they did that for me.

Editing while you're writing is like strangling the baby in the crib.