Many critics always saw and heard that my style comes from Roy Eldridge, which is true. But for many things, not only how to play the trumpet but the way to choose the notes, how to play them and how to phrase all of them, I took that from Sweets [Edison]. He really brought something new to the trumpet.

Mutual respect is so important because as soon as it disappears in relations between you and the next person, there's trouble.

As a musician you have to keep one foot back in the past and have one foot forward into the future.

Some days you get up and put the horn to your chops and it sounds pretty good and you win. Some days you try and nothing works and the horn wins. This goes on and on and then you die and the horn wins.

The idea of life is to give and receive.

I used to do a lot of apologizing for what the State Department had done.

Learn to play the piano, man, and then you can figure out crazy solos of your own.