BILLY HIGGINS

The Japanese actually approach the music on a high level. It's always been on a high level.

There's so much beautiful music in the world, and the kids are getting robbed.

The first thing is, jazz is one of the few things to let you know that there is a God and there is a creation.

Because the stuff that they feed kids now, they'll have a bunch of idiots in the next millennium as far as art and culture is concerned.

You know the drum was the first instrument besides the human voice.

If somebody would come and they're not playing music, they would encounter certain people on another level.

It brings people together. It brings the races together. It brings religions together.

The people in Japan know more about the history of jazz and the musicians than the people in the United States do.

Jazz needs the help. It's the more sophisticated music. All the other music is on the TV, but jazz isn't.

If I couldn't do it, then I'd be defeated. I've got the tools to do it. I never did question my tools.

If I couldn't do it, then I'd be defeated. I've got the tools to do it. I never did question my tools.

The Japanese actually approach the music on a high level. It's always been on a high level.

There's so much beautiful music in the world, and the kids are getting robbed.

Because the stuff that they feed kids now, they'll have a bunch of idiots in the next millennium as far as art and culture is concerned.

The people in Japan know more about the history of jazz and the musicians than the people in the United States do.

Music. It's all creativity right here, right now.

I think that people should learn about that. In most music, there's one way that you do something, and that's the only way. In jazz, it's a lot different.

The first thing is, jazz is one of the few things to let you know that there is a God and there is a creation.

The French - they like jazz, they've been on jazz a long time.

If somebody would come and they're not playing music, they would encounter certain people on another level.

It doesn't have anything to do with yesterday or tomorrow, it's all right now.

I might have played a little bit more in Europe than I have in Japan.

Jazz needs the help. It's the more sophisticated music. All the other music is on the TV, but jazz isn't.

The United States is a beautiful place, you know?

It brings people together. It brings the races together. It brings religions together.

You know the drum was the first instrument besides the human voice.

It's something that - jazz is one of the few things that you can go and listen to, I don't care where you're from, what you are, what background you come from - there's something there for you.

I enjoy seeing young people being interested in what they can do.

But anything that you hear about Japan is nothing like what you see when you actually go over there and see it, you know, in a real situation.