I can tell. I'm gifted with that, you know. When I hear that the tempo is slightly off, it's hard for me.

I've gotten hernias from drummers when they drop tempo.

Coltrane, you cant play everything at once!

If you got up on the bandstand at Minton's and couldn't play, you were not only going to be embarrassed by the people ignoring you or booing you, you might get your ass kicked.

Sometimes, if you ask people to "go downstairs and get me this or that," they'll say, "It's rainin" or "It might rain," or "There's some bumpy roads on the road," or bla-bla-bla. They give you all those excuses, so when they do something which is easy, you're supposed to say, "Damn, you did that?"

In respect for drummers, see, I love drummers.

The way you change and help music is by tryin' to invent new ways to play