Don't Bullshit' Just Play.

Trumpet Players Are Just Belligerant, And Cocky, And You Know, Just Hard-headed.

I Try To Find The Core Values That Are So Fundamental That They Transcend Ethnic Identity. That Doesn't Mean I Run From It. I Embrace African-american Culture And I Love It And Embrace It, But It Is A Part Of A Human Identity. So I'm Always Trying To Make A Larger Human Statement.

The Soul Gives Us Resilience - An Essential Quality Since We Constantly Have To Rebound From Hardship.

I Worry More About The Marketing That's Taken Hold Since The 70s. The Jazz Era, The Swing Era, Those Were Huge. Entire Decades Were Named For Music. In The 1940s - After World War Ii - Changes In Taxation, Ballrooms Closing, People Moving To The Suburbs, And The Onset Of Target Marketing And The Confusion Of Commerce With Art Caused Some Things To Happen As A Result That Have Taken Us Away From Jazz And What Jazz Offers Us.

Instead Of Imposing Your Will On Every Situation...focus On Including Everyone Else, And Just That Little Adjustment Of Attitude Gives You The Space To Understand Where And Who You Are.