Wynton Marsalis

“When I was 12, I began listening to John Coltrane and I developed a love for jazz, which I still have more and more each year.”

“We looked up to our father. He still is much greater than us.”

“The best way to be, is to do.”

“I didn't want to get that ring around my lips from practicing the trumpet, because I thought the girls wouldn't like me. So I never practiced.”

“Jazz comes from our way of life, and because it's our national art form, it helps us to understand who we are.”

“Even in these times, there are still neighbors that will turn their backs on neighbors.”

“There was one thing Beethoven didn't do. When one of his string quartets was played, you can believe the second violin wasn't improvising.”

“I grew up in the South, and our way of dealing with each other was teasing, ribbing, making fun and scrapping in the street. Criticism doesn't bother me so much. It actually made me, when I was younger, more aggressive. But you get into middle age, and you lose interest in that stuff. It's not serious.”

“There are forces all around you who wish to exploit division, rob you of your freedom, and tell you what to think. But young folks can rekindle the weary spirit of a slumbering nation.”

“Through first-class education, a generation marches down the long uncertain road of the future with confidence.”

“I generally work right up to when I have to do something - I'm always doing a lot.”

“When people dress well, they play well.”

“It's important to address young people in the reopening of New Orleans. In rebuilding, let's revisit the potential of American democracy and American glory.”

“I almost never watch TV, except for '60 Minutes' and pro football. I love Drew Brees, the Manning brothers and the Steelers' linebackers.”

“Maybe the preoccupation with technological progress has overshadowed our concern with human progress.”

“I'm not afraid of you being yourself. That's America.”

“When I auditioned for my high school band the band director was excited because my father was known to be a great musician. When he heard me, he said 'Are you sure you're Ellis's son?'”

“I dress up a certain way because I respect the music.”

“My thing is, once you start to put a backbeat on your music or something that has a machine in it, you have popularity, but you lose the flexibility. And you lose a richness.”

“When did we begin to lose faith in our ability to effect change?”