Music is my mistress and she plays second fiddle to no one.

The most important thing I look for in a musician is whether he knows how to listen.

Self-discipline, as a virtue or an acquired asset, can be invaluable to anyone.

By and large, jazz has always been like the kind of a man you wouldn't want your daughter to associate with.

I began by tinkering around with some old tunes I knew. Then, just to try something different, I set to putting some music to the rhythm that I used in jerking ice-cream sodas at the Poodle Dog. I fooled around with the tune more and more until at last, lo and behold, I had completed my first piece of finished music.

I never had much interest in the piano until I realized that every time I played, a girl would appear on the piano bench to my left and another to my right.

Selfishness can be a virtue. Selfishness is essential to survival, and without survival we cannot protect those whom we love more than ourselves.