“I approach my work musically a lot in terms of the way maybe a jazz musician would approach an improvisation on a theme.”
Andy Garcia
“[Though it does a good job of showing off some of the leading talents who work just outside the jazz mainstream, the festival is not particularly bound to the avant-garde canon.] We want to blur all the lines, ... It's easy for people to put things in a box. When events like this are institutional, it's the death of something that could have had some interesting possibilities.”
Jon Nelson
“I'm involved in the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz, and I work with students with that, and I also help try to raise funds for that.”
Herbie Hancock
“It's certainly nice to get some excitement about your work, ... Especially in jazz these days. It's not the best of time, you know.”
Mark Murphy
“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.”
Wynton Marsalis
“Thompson was involved in the world of jazz. Jazz musicians were interested in his work, and he in theirs.”
Curtis Carter
“These great jazz musicians set new standards for instrumental and vocal performance in the 20th century. Their work stands as a testament to the creative power of jazz. ...”
