If You Looked Around, You'd

When I Was 12, I Began Listening To John Coltrane And I Developed A Love For Jazz, Which I Still Have More And More Each Year.

I Think That Virtuosity Is The First Sign Of Morality In A Musician. It Means You're Serious Enough To Practice.

The Main Three Components Are The Blues, Improvisation - Which Is Some Kind Of Element That People Are Trying To Make It Up - And Swing, Which Means Even Though They're Making Up Music, They're Trying To Make It Up Together. It Feels Great, Like You're Having A Great Conversation With Somebody.

Jazz Music Creates So Many Phenomenal Figures.

When I Came To New York, To Brooklyn, I Met Alvin Ailey And Stanley Crouch And August Wilson. They Were Always Putting Things In A Philosophical Context. All The Great Jazz Musicians Did, Too. There Was Always A Sub-context To What They Were Saying About Music Even Though They Would Be Very Down Home And Earthy. So I Started To Develop, In Addition To My Power And Ability To Simply Hear, A Way To Place Myself In A Time.