I was born swinging and clapped my hands in church as a little boy, but I've grown up and I like to do things other than just swing. But blues can do more than just swing.

Making the simple complicated is commonplace.

Whatever coast he's on, a man should be himself. I don't write in any particular idiom, I write Charles Mingus.

I was born swinging and clapped my hands in church as a little boy, but I've grown up and I like to do things other than just swing. But blues can do more than just swing.

They're singing your praises while stealing your phrases.

Most customers, by the time the musicians reach the second set, are to some extent inebriated. They don't care what you play anyway.

Most of the soloists at Birdland had to wait for Parker's next record in order to find out what to play next. What will they do now?