It was my band. I organized the band and Dizzy was in the band. Dizzy was the first musical director with the band. Charlie Parker was in the band. But, no, no, that was my band.
My musical director, Mark Cherry, is the most wonderful person who ever lived on God's good green Earth. He's my director, he does the arrangements. Really, he does everything - including certain janitorial chores!
The success of our operas rests most of the time in the hands of the conductor. This person is as necessary as a tenor or a prima donna.
Any conductor who tells you that if he is approached for the directorship of the Chicago Symphony that he's not interested in it, you know perfectly well he's lying.
Ellington is a writer and arranger, as well as a musician and leader. He does movie sound tracks.
I think there has never ever been a career like John Williams'. That whole 'Jaws' phenomenon - there's nobody that knows how to use music like Spielberg, and John is just the perfect analog to Spielberg.
Will.i.am is the genius of the group. He's the one that keeps everything together creatively.
When I auditioned to be part of the "This Is It" Tour, I didn't think I was going to get in. I didn't think it was for real at first, when I got the message on MySpace from the musical director to come in and audition for him. I came in and I played for the musical director, and that night Michael Jackson came in and sat down on the couch and I played "Beat It" for him. I just practiced as much as I could to make sure it was perfect.
The music director, Stephen Oremus, was telling me: "I hope you've done your work." We only have ten days rehearsal. The music is no joke. My solo singing is not that hard. But the stuff I have as part of the choir or as a "Dead Guest" in the second-half... I'm singing some really incredible chorus stuff that I haven't done in a long time. It's extremely difficult.
A musical is only as good as its director. The same can also be said for the CIA.
I had to go and sing with the musical director of the film, Simon Lee, who is just incredible, and it went great. I sang with him about five things, things we'd worked on. And then I went to sing for Andrew Lloyd Weber.
I was in charge of the music in every team I played for, and that is a huge responsibility, believe me!
