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.

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

On becoming more acquainted with the word of the Bible, I began to understand so much more of what I had been taught, and of what I had learned about life and about the people in mine.

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.

I fluffed off the guy who kept requesting tunes all night, then found out he was the King's son.

A musical profit outweighs a financial loss.

Art is dangerous. It is one of the attractions: when it ceases to be dangerous, you don't want it.