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

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

Thelonius Monk went over to Bird and Bud Powell and said, 'I told you guys to act crazy, but I didn't tell you to fall in love with the act. You're really crazy now.'

Anybody can make the simple complecated. Creativity is making the complecated simple.

Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity.

My music is evidence of my souls will to live.

I'm trying to play the truth of what I am. The reason it's difficult is because I'm changing all the time.