I always like to play very contemporary concepts of swing right next to New Orleans music because it highlights continuum.

Louis Armstrong is jazz. He represents what the music is all about.

Don't worry about what others say about your music. Pursue whatever you are hearing... but if everybody really hates your music maybe you could try some different approaches.

If you're not making mistakes, you're not trying.

I travel up and down the country and I've been all around the middle of America for many years. Middle America is not one big mass of people with a proverbial beer in its hand, keeping the country down. That is not my experience of it and I don't labor under that misconception. And we have a long tradition of coming together through music in our country.

There's so much spirit of integration and democracy in jazz.

If you looked around, you'd be glad you couldn't see.