If you think this is weird, just look at yourselves.

Creativity is more than just being different. Anybody can plan weird; that's easy. What's hard is to be as simple as Bach. Making the simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity.

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?

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

Life has many changes. Tomorrow it may rain, and it's supposed to be sunshine, 'cause it's summertime. But God's got a funny soul, he plays like Charlie Parker.

I never heard my music played the way I heard it in my head.

I'm too busy playing. When I'm playing I don't pay attention to who's listening. When I was listening I listened to symphony orchestras, Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Stravinsky. You don't listen to one instrument; you listen to music.