Benny Goodman plays the clarinet. I play music.

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.

That's the clarinet I used to use... but it's just a piece of wood, you know, with holes in it and they put these clumsy keys on it and you're supposed to try to take that and manipulate it with throat muscles and chops... and try to make something happen that never happened before. And when you do, you never forget it. It beats sex, it beats anything.

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.'

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?

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