The Bandstand Is A Sacred Place.

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.

I Feel That For Years Of Teaching In The Country And Reading Criticism In Books, I Feel Like The Things Most Needed In Our Culture Are The Understanding Of The Meanings Of Our Music. We Haven't Done That Good Of Job Teaching Our Kids What Our Music Means Or How We Developed Our Taste In Music That Reminds Us And Teaches Us Who We Are.

People Have Taken Time Out Of Their Day And Spent Their Money To Come Sit Down At A Concert. And It's Jazz Music-it's Not Easy For Them To Get To It. I Don't Want Them Ever To Feel That I'm Taking Their Presence Lightly.

Maybe The Preoccupation With Technological Progress Has Overshadowed Our Concern With Human Progress.

For Black People, We're One Of The Only Groups Of People That For Some Reason To Express Love Of Yourself, In Some Ways, Is Misconstrued As A Dislike For Someone Else.