Food makes my mind sluggish.

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

Certain drummers drop time, and I like to play on top of the beat.

He sounded to me like he's supposed to be the savior of jazz. Sometimes people speak as though someone asked them a question. Well, no one asked him a question.

I keep telling Ron Lorman and them in the control room, "It's my band! The reason I have a band is because I can't stand for somebody to tell me what to do."

I usually write from the rhythm section...If a drummer got a funky beat on some things - like a half-shuffle or a shuffle or a backbeat that's even - I can write something.

Always look ahead, but never look back.