The music that I wrtie expresses all of the influences, musical and cultural, that I've experienced. As a child I listened to the Japanese records that my grandfather played, as well as the big-band and Broadway albums of my parents. I learned the trumpet at 8 and was exposed to classical music, and the music of Spain, which figures prominently in the trumpet pepertoire. As a teenager I played trumpet in a soul band, and guitar with friends who were into country, bluegrass, folk, the blues and the Beatles. Later on I was lucky enough to experience first-hand the music of the AACM, performed by it's first generation, and also to be introduced to Latin music by my friend from Mexico, Miguel Bermejo, and finally to learn bebop from older Chicago musicians like Tommy Ponce and Jack Hubble.
Music is truly the universal language.