I Didn't Want To Get That Ring

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.

I Try To Put A Lot Of Our Music In My Music - By That I Mean Of American Music.

It's Harder To Build Than Destroy. To Build Is To Engage And Change. In Jazz, We Call Progressing Harmonies Changes. Changes Are Like Obstacles On A Speed Course. They Demand Your Attention And Require You To Be Present. They Are Coming...they Are Here..... And Then They Are Gone. It's How Life Comes. Each Moment Is A Procession From The Future Into The Past And The Sweet Spot Is Always The Present. Live In That Sweet Spot. Be Present.

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.

Let The Critics Criticize And Let The Doers Do.