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.
It's like an act of murder - you play with intent to commit something.
The artist must say it without saying it.
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing.
Art is dangerous. It is one of the attractions: when it ceases to be dangerous, you don't want it.
Dancing is very important to people who play music with a beat. I think that people who don't dance, or who never did dance, don't really understand the beat... I know musicians who don't and never did dance, and they have difficulty communicating.