I always listen to what I can leave out.

You can't play anything on a horn that Louis Armstrong hasn't played

People will go for anything they don't understand if it's got enough hype.

Maybe you play a melody twice. You play it once like you like it, and some parts that you don't like you can just switch. An eight-bar motive - you can just take it and put it in the front or back or something like that. It can save you 50 or 60 or 70,000 dollars, a drum machine. That's why everybody uses it.

My ego only needs a good rhythm section

Monk taught me more about music composition than anyone else on 52nd Street.

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.