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.

Good music is good no matter what kind of music it is.

I'll play it first and figure out what it's called later.

Some day I'm gonna call me up on the phone, so when I answer, I can tell myself to shut up.

You can't eat a winner's plaque.

When we edit the music, I always remember, "It's my band. Save me a place to play."

I think every Negro over fifty should get a medal for putting up with all that crap.