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Since the age of 12, all my musical thinking has been influenced by Afro-American music.

Society wants to categorize everything, but to me it's all African-American music.

I don't think I'm really so unique. If every black person looked at their life they would quickly discover that they have been influenced by every type of music prevalent in America.

I think America concedes that true American music has sprung from the Negro.

American music culture is black culture.

Negro music and culture are intrinsically improvisational, existential. Nothing is sacred. After a decade, a musical idea, no matter how innovative, is threatened.

Ninety-nine percent of the music that was of any interest to me when I was growing up came out of the black community.

I'd be happy if people said that I did a little bit to raise the dignity and recognition of the greatness of African-American music.

I've always been interested in any kind of great music, and African music is, I think, the source of it all.

A whole generation of young whites have involved themselves with traditional Negro music.