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.

Playing 'bop' is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing.

You've got to find a way of saying it without saying it.

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

I like any and all of my associations with music: writing, playing, and listening. We write and play from our perspective, and the audience listens from its perspective. If and when we agree, I am lucky.

There are two kinds of worries - those you can do something about and those you can't. Don't spend any time on the latter.

My biggest kick in music -playing or writing- is when I have a problem. Without a problem to solve, how much interest do you take in anything?