We were in the heart of the ghetto in Chicago during the Depression, and every block - it was probably the biggest black ghetto in America - every bl….

It has been proven time and time again in countless studies that students who actively participate in arts education are twice as likely to read for ….

Young people should travel, and they don’t. You can’t know if you don’t go..

If architecture is frozen music then music must be liquid architecture..

I chose the trombone because the trombone players in the marching band got to be up front with the majorettes (because of the slides) and I loved tha….

Arts is just as important as military defense, you know? Emotional defense is just as important..

A song should have all the color and beauty of every rose..

I'm a tremendous believer and supporter in hip-hop and rap..

Every country can be defined through their food, their music and their language. That's the soul of a country..

Everybody has their idiosyncrasies..

Empty the cup every time and it comes back at twice as full. I developed that attitude when I was very, very young, when I decided I didn't want to b….

I guess hip-hop has been closer to the pulse of the streets than any music we've had in a long time. It's sociology as well as music, which is in kee….

Louis 'Thunder Thumbs' Johnson was one of the greatest bass players to ever pick up the instrument, as a member of the Brothers Johnson, we shared de….

What happens when you get a big break and you haven't prepared yourself? That becomes the biggest mistake you've ever made. I see it happen all the t….

I was inspired by a lot of people when I was young, every band that came through town, to the theater, or the dance hall. I was at every dance, every….

Hell, nobody knows where jazz is going to go. There may be a kid right now in Chitlin Switch, Georgia, who is going to come along and upset everybody..

Whenever a woman would come too close, I would cut her off. Part of that was vindictive - but that was totally subconscious..

All guys get into music because they love music and they also want to get the girls..

Making a record is like painting a school bus with a toothbrush.

You want your parents to say, "Hey, I'm proud of you." When you don't hear that, you learn to compensate. You say, "Hell, I don't need their approval….

I was married for 36 years but now I'm free..