All my inspiration comes from Ahmad Jamal.

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

If you hit a wrong note, it's the next note that you play that determines if it's good or bad.

I don't hold it against Dizzy [Gillespie], you know, but if a guy wants to play a certain way, you work towards that. If he stops - he's full of crap, you know. I mean, I wouldn't do it, for no money, or for no place in the white man's world. Not just to make money, because then you don't have anything. You don't have as much money as whoever you're trying to ape; that's making money by being commercial. Then you don't have anything to give the world; so you're not important. You might as well be dead.

I'm not messing around with nobody's woman. If I want a woman I go get her - you know what I mean?

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

If somebody told me I only had an hour to live, I'd spend it choking a white man. I'd do it nice and slow.