Life is a lot like jazz. It's best when you improvise.

It sounds simple, of course, but personally I can think of no more mentally arduous task than making music.

All great composers of the past spent most of their time studying. Feeling alone won't do the job. A man also needs technique.

Life is a lot like jazz. It's best when you improvise.

What the hell do you want to work for somebody else for? Work for yourself!

Originality is the only thing that counts. But the originator uses material and ideas that occur round him and pass through him. And out of his experience comes the original creation.

I didn't even start playing the piano until I was about 13 or 14. I guess I must have had a little talent or whatever-you-call-it, but I practised regularly, and that's what counts.