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" When I first came to New York everybody on the scene would treat me like I could play, but I couldn't. "

Wynton Marsalis

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" Generally, when I wake up in the morning I set out a series of problems for myself and I write them down, and when I'm sleeping, my mind solves the problems. When I wake up in the morning, I have more clarity on the issue. "

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" Jazz celebrates older generations and not just the youth movement. When you 'sell' only to people of a certain age, you get cut off from the main body of experience. "

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" 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. "

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" 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. "

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

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" Through improvisation, jazz teaches you about yourself. And through swing, it teaches you that other people are individuals too. It teaches you how to coordinate with them. "

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" The majority of the high schools and the public schools in N.Y.C. don't even have band programs. Hip-hop in a lot of ways is an outgrowth of a lack of instruments and a desire to play music, so we can't really fault the kids for that. "

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" My daddy thought - no, he expected - that my brothers and I and our generation would make the world a better place. He was correct in his belief because he had lived in an America of continual social progress, depression followed by prosperity, segregation by integration, and so on. "

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

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" Many a revolution started with the actions of a few. Only 56 men signed the Declaration of Independence. A few hanging together can lead a nation to change. "

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" There really have only ever been a few people in each generation who step out, are willing to put themselves on the line, and risk everything for their beliefs. "

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" Everything comes out in blues music: joy, pain, struggle. Blues is affirmation with absolute elegance. It's about a man and a woman. So the pain and the struggle in the blues is that universal pain that comes from having your heart broken. Most blues songs are not about social statements. "

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" Swing is extreme coordination. It's a maintaining balance, equilibrium. It's about executing very difficult rhythms with a panache and a feeling in the context of very strict time. So, everything about the swing is about some guideline and some grid and the elegant way that you negotiate your way through that grid. "

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

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" My mother always took my brothers and me to music lessons. There were six children. Our parents attended our concerts and encouraged us to study and enjoy many different types of music. "

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" I believe in professionalism, but playing is not like a job. You have to be grateful to have the opportunity to play. "

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" My daddy expected that my brothers and I and our generation would make the world a better place. He had lived in an America of continual social progress. "

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

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" It was Dr. King's tireless activism that fostered our modern way of relating to one another. "

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

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

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" I wanted to make somebody feel like Coltrane made me feel, listening to it. "

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" Musicians like to converse. There's always interesting conversation with musicians - with classical musicians, with jazz musicians, musicians in general. "

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" 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. "

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