Quote

Jazz music by its very nature is just a conglomerate of a lot of different kinds of music.

When somebody uses a word as a genre distinction, all it really does is trigger certain experiences, or music, that somebody's been exposed to. But that's an individual thing; there's no sort of universal understanding of what jazz is.

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

Jazz has been such a force in music, that any musician, including classical composers, have been influenced, and obviously performers, also.

Certainly, jazz has become more of a niche, which is surprising, because it's our music. It's the national music of America.

Jazz was the pop music of its day, and all American popular music has stemmed from it one way or another.

Jazz music is America's past and its potential, summed up and sanctified and accessible to anybody who learns to listen to, feel, and understand it. The music can connect us to our earlier selves and to our better selves-to-come. It can remind us of where we fit on the time line of human achievement, an ultimate value of art.

Jazz is like wine. When it is new, it is only for the experts, but when it gets older, everybody wants it.

Jazz is rhythm and meaning.

Jazz really does try to include everything. It's always been popular music. But the wonderful thing about jazz is its willingness to take chances.