I never wanted this kind of life that Im still living.

I had the first integrated Army band in World War II.

I have more energy at the end than I do at the beginning. You can be so beat up that you can scarcely walk on stage but when you get to the piano the excitement kicks in, you forget about being tired.

Jazz isn't dead yet. It's the underpinning of everything in this country. Whether it's a Broadway show, or fusion, or right on through classical music, if it's coming out of the U.S., it's not going to survive unless it's got some jazz influence.

Don't be a perfectionist... leave that to the classical musicians.

Your mother’s heartbeat is the first sound you ever hear and your own heartbeat is the last.

The secret of a great melody is a secret.