It's not exclusive, but inclusive, which is the whole spirit of jazz.

One of the most important functions of jazz has been to encourage a hope for freedom, for people living in situations of intolerance or struggle.

I think risk-taking is a great adventure. And life should be full of adventures.

We need to move into a culture of peace. What I hope to promote is the idea that we all need each other and that the greatest happiness in life is not how much we have but how much we give. That's a wealth that's priceless. You can't buy compassion.

Creativity and artistic endeavors have a mission that goes far beyond just making music for the sake of music.

I got a chance to work with Miles Davis, and that changed everything for me, 'cause Miles really encouraged all his musicians to reach beyond what they know, go into unknown territory and explore. It's made a difference to me and the decisions that I've made over the years about how to approach a project in this music.

In World War II, jazz absolutely was the music of freedom, and then in the Cold War, behind the Iron Curtain, same thing. It was all underground, but they needed the food of freedom that jazz offered.

Forget about trying to compete with someone else. Create your own pathway. Create your own new vision.

I'm not special, no more special than anybody else.

Jazz is about being in the moment.

The spirit of jazz is the spirit of openness.

We are eternally linked not just to each other but our environment.

I'm always interested in looking forward toward the future. Carving out new ways of looking at things.

My hope is that the music will serve as a metaphor for the actions taken by the inhabitants of this wonderful planet as a call for world harmony on all levels.

Music happens to be an art form that transcends language.

The strongest thing that any human being has going is their own integrity and their own heart. As soon as you start veering away from that, the solidity that you need in order to be able to stand up for what you believe in and deliver what's really inside, it's just not going to be there.

Music is the tool to express life - and all that makes a difference.

It's part of life to have obstacles. It's about overcoming obstacles; that's the key to happiness.

Globalization means we have to re-examine some of our ideas, and look at ideas from other countries, from other cultures, and open ourselves to them. And that's not comfortable for the average person.

Too bad that Paul Ryan confessed to being a fan of Rage Against The Machine. By doing so, he not only begged for a bucketing by many of their fans but actually got one from the band's guitar player, Tom Morello.

Sleep is for squares.

We Californians can watch the Weather Channel for images of winter's brutality unleashed upon our fellow Americans and thank our lucky stars we don't have to contend with it.

To see change in your own area code is very powerful. There's a little orphanage down the street from my company, and we donate $1 from the sale of each CD we sell to the orphanage.

'Fox News' will one day come to an end. Led Zeppelin will not. It's as simple as that.