I got my first trumpet when I was six years old, from Al Hirt. My father was playing in Al Hirt's band at that time.

Those who play for applause....Tha t’s all they get.

This music heals people because music is vibration, and the proper vibration heals.

The Duke and Swing represent affirmation in the face of adversity.

We started to confuse entertainment with art, because art has a component of entertainment. It has to have that or it becomes too boring. It becomes too lost in its own devices. But I just think that we started to lose, and even before that, it's not necessary.

The rebuilding of New Orleans is an important point in the history of the United States.

Everything comes out in blues music: joy, pain, struggle. Blues is affirmation with absolute elegance. It's about a man and a woman. So the pain and the struggle in the blues is that universal pain that comes from having your heart broken. Most blues songs are not about social statements.