I might have played a little bit more in Europe than I have in Japan.

There’s so much beautiful music in the world, and the kids are getting robbed.

It was always a learning process.

If somebody would come and they’re not playing music, they would encounter certain people on another level.

The French-they like jazz, they’ve been on jazz a long time.

Everything else, they can listen to over the radio and know how to do it. Jazz seems to be a little more complicated.

To know the tradition of the music, you have to know about certain people and certain concepts. It’s a learning process.

You know the drum was the first instrument besides the human voice.

If I couldn’t do it, then I’d be defeated. I’ve got the tools to do it. I never did question my tools.

Because the stuff that they feed kids now, they’ll have a bunch of idiots in the next millennium as far as art and culture is concerned.

The people in Japan know more about the history of jazz and the musicians than the people in the United States do.

I enjoy seeing young people being interested in what they can do.

If everybody gets in there and sees that and understands that, then it lets them know that they’re all human beings and creatures of God.

Jazz needs the help. It’s the more sophisticated music. All the other music is on the TV, but jazz isn’t.

It brings people together. It brings the races together. It brings religions together.

I think that people should learn about that. In most music, there’s one way that you do something, and that’s the only way. In jazz, it’s a lot different.

It’s something that – jazz is one of the few things that you can go and listen to, I don’t care where you’re from, what you are, what background you come from – there’s something...

Not just younger people but older people, too, because the drums are that kind of instrument where people are not intimidated.

The French – they like jazz, they’ve been on jazz a long time.

Jazz has still not gotten to the point where it is totally, the most, the greatest thing is happening in music.

The first thing is, jazz is one of the few things to let you know that there is a God and there is a creation.

It doesn’t have anything to do with yesterday or tomorrow, it’s all right now.

The Japanese actually approach the music on a high level. It’s always been on a high level.

Look, jazz has always had, because of its origins, that’s the only reason. It’s the only reason it’s like that. Where it came from. It’s not accepted.

Let’s just say that more intelligence is needed. You can’t just run up and do this, you have to think about it.

Music. It’s all creativity right here, right now.

There are no wrongs and rights. You give your heart. It all depends on how wide-open you are.

But anything that you hear about Japan is nothing like what you see when you actually go over there and see it, you know, in a real situation.

The United States is a beautiful place, you know?