The secret of a great melody is a secret.

Over the years I've had strong friendships with many priests. As a matter of fact, a group of Christian leaders from the National Council of Churches came to my house in the 1950s to ask me to write music for a Mass. I didn't think I was ready at that time. So, in a sense, I guess joining the church and writing the Mass was a culmination of a long journey that is still going on.

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.

Jazz is about freedom within discipline.

Every individual should be expressing themselves, whether a politician or a minister or a policeman.

I was always very aware of drummers. My oldest brother Henry was a drummer, and he drummed on everything in the house from the kitchen sink to stovepipes. He was the first drummer in the Gil Evans Orchestra, so you've got to know how great he was.

When things are going well, I hate to quit.