We looked up to our father. He still is much greater than us.

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.

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.

Jazz is democracy in music.

I wanted to make somebody feel like Coltrane made me feel, listening to it.

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

Jazz is not just 'Well, man, this is what I feel like playing.' It's a very structured thing that comes down from a tradition and requires a lot of thought and study.