Famous quotes by Wynton Marsalis:

"We really turned it into a jazz work, ... We did a lot of playing with - and off - the orchestra. But we were watching the conductor the whole time. We weren't just out there. We worked everything out in advance. ... We're very pleased with the way it turned out."

"I hate auto-pilot playing, ... And I think you know the kind of playing I'm talking about."

"We have a lot that we've offered this country. It's our art form. It's America's art form."

"This is one of the great cultural cities of the world. Through the music, New Orleans spoke to the soul of the nation. That's why this is a national crisis."

"To put on your suit and play jazz music, ... knowing that many people in your audience have never experienced any jazz whatsoever, you have to believe beyond the fear of rejection. But that fear is part of creating."

"I told her, 'I'll be there -- if you wake me up! Just let the phone ring a lot.'"

"This girl, about 14, came to see me and I said, 'What are you doing out so late?'"

"Your life is valuable and worth something, and look at this contribution that we are bringing to this country."

"The nerves are a problem on trumpet, because when you mess up everyone can hear it. Just remember most people are too polite to say anything about it. That should calm your nerves."

"Don't worry about what others say about your music. Pursue whatever you are hearing... but if everybody really hates your music maybe you could try some different approaches."

"I always read all these books about the slaves. My mother is very educated. My father would talk to us like we were grown men. We never knew what he was talking about half the time."

"The young very seldom lead anything in our country today. It's been quite some time since a younger generation pushed an older one to a higher standard."

"Don't settle for style. Succeed in substance."

"What, other than injustice, could be the reason that the displaced citizens of New Orleans cannot be accommodated by the richest nation in the world?"

"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."

"You need a team. You need people to push you. You need opponents."

"I got my first trumpet when I was six years old, from Al Hirt. My father was playing in Al Hirt's band at that time."

"The musicians I respected were much older than me. I expected them to cut my head, and they did."

"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."