“This is what I want to hear in guitar playing,” Anthony Wilson said of Ben Monder. “This is why we’re out here. It’s the reason of doing the whole thing. I bow down.”

“Forty years into this career, I have come back to myself, and I feel the same joy I did the first time I opened that sax case every time I play,” says Jesse Davis.

“Kabir loves helping people create projects,” says composer Ted Nash.

How best to mark Miles Davis’ centennial? By allowing the stories to flow, and cross-discussions to happen.

​“The elders are very serious about making sure that the tradition of the music stays alive,” said Jordan Williams.

“I wanted to get into the real feeling,” Melissa Aldana says of studying the work of singers from Cuba’s filin tradition in preparation for her collaboration with pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba.

​Dave King (left) and Reid Anderson offer insights into why The Bad Plus’ chemistry was cool, the accomplishments many and its longevity so fruitful.

“You cannot quit,” drummer Adonis Rose, right, told vocalist Phillip Manuel. “There’s no way in hell you can stop being a performer, as great as you are.”

The bows at the end of the star-studded event featured a ridiculous collection of jazz artistry including Helen Sung, Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, Tiger Okoshi, Dianne Reeves, Kurt Elling, Buddy Guy, James Reedus, John Beasley, Jacob Collier, Lizz Wright and many more.

While writer Ted Panken, right, didn’t play Ella Fitzgerald for the Blindfold Test with Janis Siegel, the vocalist passed with flying colors!