The secret of a great melody is a secret.

I knew even if I'm a cowboy, I'm going to be involved in jazz in some way.

You have to be taught to hate.

It's like a whole orchestra, the piano for me. And also it's to me the greatest instrument. I shouldn't say that, but I believe that this is the only instrument I can really feel happy about playing.

There's a way of playing safe, there's a way of using tricks and there's the way I like to play which is dangerously where you're going to take a chance on making mistakes in order to create something you haven't created before.

If I told you all the people that have secretly told me I've influenced them, you'd never believe it, and you'll never see it in print, either.

Do you think Duke Ellington didn't listen to Debussy? Louis Armstrong loved opera, did you know that? Name me a jazz pianist who wasn't influenced by European music!