Some of [drummers] drop time because they want to hear what you're doin'.

[Prince] could very well be the Duke Ellington of Rock 'n' Roll.

Americans don't like any form of art, man. All they like to do is make money. They don't like me, Sammy Davis, or anybody else. They don't like nothing. They just like Sammy because he can make 'em a lot of money.

You want to know how I started playing trumpet? My father bought me one, and I studied the trumpet. And everybody I heard that I liked, I picked up things from.

At least one day out of the year all musicans should just put their instruments down, and give thanks to Duke Ellington.

It's a different ballgame now, so that lets [teo] Macero out. He's always complainin', always sick.

In Europe, they like everything you do. The mistakes and everything. That's a little bit too much.