"The true measure of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable."

"To be humble is to be so sure of one's self and one's mission that one can forego calling excessive attention to one's self and status."

"I am a bluesman in the academy, a jazzman in the church, a funkster in the ivory tower."

"To be a revolutionary is to be a person of integrity."

"I'm a jazz freedom fighter, and I believe in the power of improvisation and the blues as a way of life."