There's such a cynicism about the phrase 'I laughed all the way to the bank.' It's as though money is what you're doing, rather than playing music. If you're playing a money game, why not get into banking?

If you don’t see the wonder in the most ordinary phenomenon, you’re not going to resonate very much.

An audience is in many respects no more than a mob under loose control.

I can't understand guys who just have to have your autograph. What do you do when you get home, take it out & look at it?

I wanted to resign from the planet, not just music. It stopped being fun with success. Money got in the way. Everybody got greedy, including me. Fear set in. I got miserable when I became a commodity.

When I first met Benny Goodman he wouldn't talk about anything but clarinets, mouthpieces, reeds, etc. When I tried to change the subject, he said 'But that's what we have in common. We both play clarinet.' I said, 'No, Benny, that's where we're different. You play clarinet, I play music.'

You have no idea of the women I didn't marry.