First you imitate, then you innovate.

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

You can tell whether a person plays well or not by the way he carries the instrument, whether it means something to him or not.

If you understood everything I say, you'd be me!

I couldn't do "What's Love Got To Do With It", Tina Turner because it wasn't the right tempo; so I scratched it from the record. I wanted to do it about a year ago, but something happened.

In music, silence is more important than sound.

In high school I was best in music class on the trumpet, but the prizes went to the boys with blue eyes. I made up my mind to outdo anybody white on my horn.