All the notes were taken directly from the source mentioned.

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Improvisation – Truly being in the moment, means exploring what you don’t know/ It means going into that dark room where you don’t recognize things. It means going into that dark room where you don’t recognize things. It means operating on the recall part of your brain. This is something I still work on every day: learning to get out of my own way. It’s not easy, but the times when you can do that are truly magical. Improvising is like opening a wonderful box where everything you take out is always new. You will never get bored, because what that box contains is different every single time.”

Miles would never hand out a pat answer when he could make you think instead. That’s the mark of a great teacher.

No Person is responsible for another person’s happiness, and you can’t make a person into who you want him/her to be. You have to love her for who she is or look for somebody else.

Acting is making a choice, so all the players must be ready to act as well as react.

The Only Rule: Never repeat what you’ve played before

Duke Ellington “What’s your favorite composition? The Next one.”

Stressful circumstances either bond people or breaks them apart

Human Nature is to become comfortable with what works and feel, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”

“One of the hardest things to do in life is to judge events for what they actually are, rather than giving in to the discomfort we naturally feel at losing something familiar. Human beings start out with a youthful spirit that lends itself to exploration, but over time we lose that. We find our confort zone, and we don’t want to leave it. Change means subjecting yourself to challenge, scrutiny, self-criticism, and disappointment so it’s hard to embrace, especially if you like where you are”

“Using music to address issues in our daily lives. My desire turned to seeking ways to create music to serve humanity, to contribute something empowering and potentially transformative to the people of the world”

“We often don’t realize how amazing people are, especially those who are close to us, until they’re gone”

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo: The law of cause of effect through sound

Nichiren Buddhism by Sola Gakkai International (Documentary proof and real evidence)

Gohonzon
Founded by a 13cent monk Nichiren Daishonin who concluded that the Lotus Sutra was tough by Shakyamuni as the ultimate practice.

By chanting you evoke the meaning of those words from our life, the law of the universe within all life

It’s about how to turn adversity into opportunity. We believe that obstacles are means for our growth.

SGI President Daisaku Ikeda translated Daishonin’s writings into concepts applicable today

Part of the Lotus Sutra is removing doubt from the equation

Mentor: Someone who guides you to realize your own potential

In my Buddhist belief, whenever we’re faced with challenges, we can transform them into opportunities, which strengthens our resolve and builds confidence in our ability to overcome obstacles that will surely arise in the future. Joy and suffering are a part of life, but we can transform suffering into joy through the power in our own life that awakens through our Buddhist practice. Every obstacle contains within it a jewel, and my life felt so filled with jewels right now, I could hardly believe my good fortune.

When you never stop exploring, you stay active and vital, no matter what you may be doing. People stop exploring in their lives for various reasons—fear of criticism, of failure, of disappointment. But even if you decide you don’t love the direction in which you’re moving, you can always change directions. Making every record of mine completely different from any other record would be the ultimate expression of exploring every facet of myself. With each record, I wanted to jump off the cliff in a different spot.

I have to stop and think about why I’m rejecting something. Part of my training with Miles Davis, and also iIin my Buddhist practice, was learning the art of turning the impossible into the possible.

As a jazz musician, if you are playing in a band, you can’t stop and think about whether you like what the guitarist just did because as soon as you start judging the other musicians, it stops the flow.

Whatever happens, you’ve got to accept it as a fact, as reality, and then figure out a way to make it work.

Once I decided that every new record had to be completely different from anything I d done before, my focus changed.

Now I asked myself, How can I contribute to solutions for the problems humanity is facing?

I no longer saw myself as a musician; now I was a human being who happened to

make music. When you look at yourself that way, the purpose behind the music becomes more important than the music itself.

I decided to write out a copy of each song’s lyrics for every musician who was playing. We all would read through them and then talk about what feelings and images they evoked.

I wanted us to play not just the music but the words—the meaning of the song.

Whenever you undertake an action for the greater good, opposing forces will surely arise.

Resistance is an indication that you are moving.

Albums:

Speak No Child

The Prisoner

New Standard

Gershwin World

Possibilities

River: The Joni Letters (Won Album of the year, second jazz record after Getz/Gilberto)

Tony Williams: Lifetime, Emergency and Wilderness

“Actual Proof”

Movie Round Midnight

Mwandishi Band, Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye

Weather Report, Tony Williams Life-time, Return to Forever

Head Hunters

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