Love is the spiritual essence of what we do. Technique is the manifestation of the preparation and investment as a result of the love.

The first time I ever played the trumpet in public, I played the Marine Hymn. I sounded terrible.

My older brother and myself always played together in bands, but we never knew we would be professional musicians.

How great musicians demonstrate a mutual respect and trust on the bandstand can alter your outlook on the world and enrich every aspect of your life, understanding what it means to be a global citizen in the most modern sense.

I feel that for years of teaching in the country and reading criticism in books, I feel like the things most needed in our culture are the understanding of the meanings of our music. We haven't done that good of job teaching our kids what our music means or how we developed our taste in music that reminds us and teaches us who we are.

I dress up a certain way because I respect the music.

New Orleans had a great tradition of celebration. Opera, military marching bands, folk music, the blues, different types of church music, ragtime, echoes of traditional African drumming, and all of the dance styles that went with this music could be heard and seen throughout the city. When all of these kinds of music blended into one, jazz was born.