The First Time I Ever

When I Auditioned For My High School Band The Band Director Was Excited Because My Father Was Known To Be A Great Musician. When He Heard Me, He Said 'are You Sure You're Ellis's Son?'

Young Kids Are Always Singing And Painting. When You Get To That Second And Third Grade Level, You're Supposed To Put All That Aside.

Many Of Our Greatest Musicians Abandoned All Of Their Aesthetic Objectives To Try To Become Pertinent. And, At The End Of The Day, They Never Became Pop Stars. I Counter Stated That Very Strongly, And I Continue To Do That.

As You Get Older - For Example, In Our Band We Have Members Of Our Orchestra, Like Carlos Enriquez And Ali Jackson And Walter Blanning. I Taught Them When They Were In High School, And Now They Teach Me.i'll Regularly Call Ali And Say, "man, Can You Break This Rhythm Down For Me?" Or Carlos Was Actually Our Music Director In Cuba, And He's Been Instrumental In A Lot Of My Education, And I Started To Develop A Saying With Them, Because They Tease Me All The Time - You Get Older, You Have That Familiar Relationship - I Say, "you Have To Follow Your Young Leadership, Too."

The Duke And Swing Represent Affirmation In The Face Of Adversity.