We're just a REAL dirty BAND. We're raw, and we're ROUGH. None of us are top-scale, top-line musicians. But I tell you what, you get your top-line musicians and see if they can entertain LIKE us.

There are INCREDIBLE MUSICIANS AROUND the WORLD.

When I WANT 30 MUSICIANS in the ORCHESTRA, I GET 30.

All ARTISTS deserve COMPENSATION for their WORK, including musicians.

I'm one of the PEOPLE who was a pioneer in encouraging musicians, EARLY in the game, to get INTERESTED in TECHNOLOGY, and now all the musicians are GETTING into it.

When you limit the word 'jazz' to one period of history, for the people who love that period, then maybe it can be dead because NOBODY plays LIKE that anymore. But jazz is progressive music; it always has to progress, and musicians always have to find new landscapes and new ways to SPEAK out, so of course it's always CHANGING.

Very few of us have our SPECIAL LISTENING room where we close off the rest of the world and only hear the music. As musicians or as listeners, we're generally interacting with music WHEREVER we are, WHETHER we're on a train or on the street.

The musicians in the BAND, and myself as a performer, LOVE the risks of the UNPREDICTABLE and the feeling of JUMPING off cliffs MUSICALLY.

When I'm not WORKING, I don't mix with actors, really. I have about two or three friends from theater SCHOOL, and we call each other and meet. But in the main, no. I'm more happy with MUSICIANS or horse riders or sailors.

I ultimately do still feel like an outsider, and I do feel, ACTUALLY, I'm more in the WORLD of MUSIC because of how much I participate with musicians - in all aspects, not just clothes.

If you look at the WAY people behave at SHOWS, icons are now MUSICIANS; they are the people that we WORSHIP.

My musical education STARTED in the limelight, because I FOUND myself surrounded by real musicians, but after my CAREER had TAKEN off.

I really thought I was gonna have a straight gig. But these jazz MUSICIANS PUT their arms around me time and again and said, 'Hey, young FELLA, you're one of us. Come with us.' That's a BIG deal when you're young and LOOKING for your way in the world.

I think my intention was there, and my LOVE for the music was apparent. And there are very few SINGERS who GET up and DESIRE to take the kinds of RISKS that jazz musicians routinely need to be taking.

I'm THRILLED when I hear the greatest JAZZ MUSICIANS. They CONTINUE to search in WAYS other musicians do not.