Sometimes [playing free] doesn't happen, because maybe a guy's wife'll come in, you know, and his ego will catch him. If everybody's completely just straight-without any old ladies over here, a fourth of whisky over there; if it's balanced right, it'll come off. It has to be. But when you get egos involved with playing free, you can't do it.

Joao Gilberto on guitar could read a newspaper and sound good.

People will go for anything they don't understand if it's got enough hype.

For me, music and life are all about style.

The only reason to write a new song is because you're tired of the old ones.

White folks always think that you have to have a label on everything - you know what I mean?

Coltrane, you cant play everything at once!