I am not fundamentally a musician, I am fundamentally a human being.

I learned the importance of being nonjudgmental, taking what happens and trying to make it work.That's something you should apply to life.

Jazz is about being in the moment.

In World War II, jazz absolutely was the music of freedom, and then in the Cold War, behind the Iron Curtain, same thing. It was all underground, but they needed the food of freedom that jazz offered.

You can practice to attain knowledge, but you can't practice to attain wisdom.

Getting the Oscar had the biggest impression on me.

I keep recycling and repackaging music that I've done in the past, as though I can't write anymore. Like, okay, I'm done with that. But I need to kind of prod myself again into come on, Herbie, get off your duff and start writing some new music.