You take romance - I'll take Jell-O.

A lot of singers think all they have to do is exercise their tonsils to get ahead. They refuse to look for new ideas and new outlets, so they fall by the wayside... I'm going to try to find out the new ideas before the others do.

It isn't where you came from, its where you're going that counts.

Just don't give up trying to do what you really want to do.

Everybody wants to know about my style and how it came about. It's no big secret. It's the way I feel.

Every time I look down on this timeless town, whether blue or gray be her skies, whether loud be her cheers, or whether soft be her tears, more and more do I realize that...I love Paris.

[On bebop years] All I did was sing 'How High the Moon.' It seemed like the only song I ever sang.