“America used to be proud of abstraction, and we have fallen away from ...” — Jason Moran Quote

“America used to be proud of abstraction, and we have fallen away from it. The future depends on people trying to promote that abstract thinking. Not just in relation to music and jazz and the arts, but the economy, social strife, tension between people.”

“I kind of want to get the music back on a road it hasn't been on for a while. I want to promote the arts as part of the American diet.”

“As a listener, we're looking for that person who kind of excites the molecules within us - who knows how to tell the story that resonates deeply to our core and almost prompts us into action. Fats Waller has been that person for decades. When people need a lift, sometimes they go to him. I know I do.”

“Pianos - if they don't like what you're saying, then they won't talk back to you. And you want it to talk back to you.”

“I don't want any of my records to sound like one style throughout. That's why I choose different grooves and songs: tunes that are sensitive and slow as well as pieces that are abstract and fast. The approach I want to take with my records is to give the listener a variety of grooves, concepts, and composers.”

“A typical leader has - a natural tendency is to be defensive in the face of a crisis. The first reaction is to blame someone - or something - else. Often, the blame is aimed at something abstract or non-controllable, which often has nothing to do with the crisis but is adjacent to whatever is going on, so it's an easy target.”

“Revenge is a particularly interesting concept, especially the notion of whether or not it exists outside of just an abstract idea.”

“We invoke the sacrifices of our fallen heroes in the abstract, but we seldom take time to thank them individually.”

“I think a lot of my anxieties and fears are things that are very abstract.”

“When I conform to truth, I do not conform to an abstract principle; I conform to the nature of God.”

“Good science fiction is intelligent. It asks big questions that are on people's minds. It's not impossible. It has some sort of root in the abstract.”