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

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?

I always wanted to be a spontaneous composer.

Jazz music is a language of the emotions.

I always thought that no matter what kind of work people did, they should involve themselves totally with all the discrimination they ran into.

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.

If someone has been escaping reality, I don't expect him to dig my music.