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.

Trumpet players see each other, and it's like we're getting ready to square off or get into a fight or something.

We no longer want to be a melting pot, because we don't understand what is already melted.

Even in these times, there are still neighbors that will turn their backs on neighbors.

The people are not coming because of me. They didn't come before me. It's because of a lack of education and understanding, so it makes me more motivated. It's like my mother said about having an artistic child - she learned more from him and he gets more attention and more of the love, not less.

My daddy expected that my brothers and I and our generation would make the world a better place. He had lived in an America of continual social progress.

For me as a person who's in the arts and as someone who understands the magnitude of our contributions and the price that was paid to contribute to that, that we just have not gotten that together. I will do all that I can to get in front of our kids, to try to teach them, but at a certain point the people have to want it and come towards it.