It was Dr. King's tireless activism that fostered our modern way of relating to one another.

And that's the soulful thing about playing: you offer something to somebody. You don't know if they'll like it, but you offer it.

I play piano and drums very poorly and French horn and tuba all equally as bad.

The musicians, Duke Ellington, his thing was not about separating himself from the rest of America. Louis Armstrong - go to the forefathers of our music - Jelly Roll Morton - they're not preaching a separatist agenda. They're not taking their music and saying, "This is for me."

I'm just lucky to have the type of friends and musicians and people dedicated to my music that I do.

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

Ethics are more important than laws.