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

Jazz music creates so many phenomenal figures.

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

If you want to be different, do something different.

The majority of the high schools and the public schools in N.Y.C. don't even have band programs. Hip-hop in a lot of ways is an outgrowth of a lack of instruments and a desire to play music, so we can't really fault the kids for that.

In the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra we play such a diversity of music, with 10 arrangers in the band, we don't really worry about whether it's contemporary or not.

Everything comes out in blues music: joy , pain , struggle . Blues is affirmation with absolute elegance.