It's not just his skills as a master musician that made him such an astute maestro but his common sense as an observer of people.

WSJ: A Taste of Tito Puente | By Will Friedwald

While there's no shortage of protean young improvisers in New York, Shaw benefits from an increasingly rare commodity: a real-world apprenticeship with a master musician.

NPR: Jaleel Shaw: A Cause For 'Optimism' In Jazz

They kept the traditions of Afghan music alive while music was banned under the Taleban, and recruited Ustad Farida Mahwash, who was Afghanistan's top radio star of the 1970s and the only female vocalist to get the celebrity status of Ustad, which means master musician.

BBC: Senegal's stars scoop music awards

And so I went to try transfer to Queens College, and Jimmy made it a lot easier for me to finish my Master's because, you know, he's a working musician, and he knows that I can't, you know, stop playing just to go to school.

NPR: 'Viva': Diego Urcola and His Dream Band