At first I didn't understand what [Thelonious Monk] was doing, but I went back again, and what I can say about Monk is that I heard ancient Africa in….

In Africa I discovered what the true purpose of a musician is. We are historians, and it is our purpose to tell the people the true story of our past….

There's no appreciation for the giants [of jazz]; there's never been a major film on Duke Ellington , never a major film on Louis Armstrong. What the….

Our past as well as our future. It could have been completely destroyed when we were brought to the New World as slaves. They even took away our drum….

We all have music in us - your heartbeat is your drum, your voice is your sound - and music is supposed to put you in tune with nature..