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

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

I don't care much about music. What I like is sounds.

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

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.

There are a lot of great players... a lot of great players around, but Louie Bellson is really something special.

Everyone wants to put people on, I think. And get away with it! That's the thing: put people on and get away with it! That's a science in itself.