You should never be comfortable, man. Being comfortable fouled up a lot of musicians.

You have to practice for a long time before you can learn to sound like yourself

It takes a long time to sound like yourself.

Monk was a gentle person, gentle and beautiful, but he was strong as an ox. And if I had ever said something about punching Monk out in front of his face - and I never did - then somebody should have just come and got me and taken me to the madhouse, because Monk could have just picked my little ass up and thrown me through a wall.

I don't pay no attention to what critics say about me, the good or the bad. The toughest critic I got is myself...and I'm too vain to play anything I think is bad.

It's not the notes you play, it's the notes you don't play.

First you imitate, then you innovate.