Jazz is a good barometer of freedom.

Roaming through the jungle of "Ohs" and "Ahs", searching for a more agreeable noise, I live a life of primitivity with the mind of a child and an unquenchable thirst for sharps and flats.

Simplicity is a most complex form

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

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.

San Francisco is one of the great cultural plateaus of the world - one of the really urbane communities in the United States - one of the truly cosmopolitan places and for many, many years, it always has had a warm welcome for human beings from all over the world

The problem of expressing the contributions that Benny Carter has made to popular music is so tremendous it completely fazes me, so extraordinary a musician is he.