Bop is no love-child of jazz.

Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom.

I don't care who likes it or buys it. Because if you use that criterion, Mozart would never have written Don Giovanni, Charlie Parker would have never played anything but swing music.

When I first heard music, I thought it should be very clean, very precise. Something that people could understand, something that was beautiful.

Some guys said 'Here's bop!' Wham! They said, 'Here's something we can make money on!' Wham! 'Here's a comedian!' Wham! Here's a guy who talks funny talk!'

I kept thinking there's bound to be something else? I could hear it sometimes, but I couldn't play it.

You've got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail.