An artist should write for himself & not for an audience. If the audience likes it, great. If not, they can keep away.

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

I think that band [Glenn Miller] was the beginning of the end. It was a mechanized version of what they called jazz music. I still can't stand to listen to it.

I like the music. I love it & live it in fact. But for me the business part of music just plain stinks.

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.'

'Swing' is an adjective or a verb, not a noun. All jazz musicians should swing. There is no such thing as a 'swing band' in music.

Jazz was born out of the whiskey bottle, was raised on marijiana, and will expire on cocaine.