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

Sing sweet, but put a little dirt in it.

Music, of course, is what I hear and something that I more or less live by. It's not an occupation or profession, it's a compulsion.

I'm sure critics have their purpose, and they're supposed to do what they do, but sometimes they get a little carried away with what they think someone should have done, rather than concerning themselves with what he did.

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

There is hardly any money interest in art, and music will be there when money is gone.

If anybody was Mr. Jazz it was Louis Armstrong. He was the epitome of jazz and always will be. He is what I call an American standard, an American original. ... I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues. ... I don't need time, I need a deadline. ...There are two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind. ... Music is my mistress, and she plays second fiddle to no one.