I try to play the bare essence, to let everything be just what it's supposed to be.

I'd like to play for you one of my compositions, my only composition.

I was blessed that I got married early and had a good wife. That sort of kept me straight. Probably I would have been like Charlie Parker, you know, involved in drugs or alcohol or something like that if I hadn't had this stability.

Miles got a mystique about him-plus he's at the top of his profession. And he's got way, way, way more money.

The idea of life is to give and receive.

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

You can't steal a gift. Bird [Charlie Parker] gave the world his music, and if you can hear it you can have it.