When the band was playing, Thad was happy. He made the music. The music came out of him.
Writing for McCoy was great. You could be the saddest arranger in the world. . . you could write nothing, but when he plays it, it sounds great!
For the record, if anyone on Broadway or in LA says it’s going to be easy, you have to assume it’s going to be the hardest thing in the world!
Working with Michael Brecker was the deepest experience of my life.
My advice about playing opera. . . don’t drink too many liquids before you start.
You studied music, I studied the history of interesting releases for lead trumpet players.
The real art in music is composing and improvising. There’s nothing else. I wanted in my life to somehow get better in those fields.
If you look at someone standing in front of a big band, they probably wrote a check for the privilege.
There are times when you are a trombone player and there are other times when you are the trombonist.
House of Cards has been a dream job in terms of the amount of freedom I have. I have one of the longest creative leashes I’ve ever had.
