Funk, gospel, blues is all out of slavery times, out of depression, out of sorrow.

I feel what they feel. And people who listen to me know that, and it makes them feel like they're not alone.

It is difficult to retain your standards with the pressure of trying to make money, which always has its rules...It's hard to walk the tightrope of doing what you think is your best and making money at it.

I made wine from the lilac tree/Put my heart in its recipe/It makes me see what I want to see/And be what I want to be

Jazz is not just music, it's a way of life, it's a way of being, a way of thinking. . . . the new inventive phrases we make up to describe things - all that to me is jazz just as much as the music we play.

I had spent many years pursuing excellence, because that is what classical music is all about... Now it was dedicated to freedom, and that was far more important.

When a child is gifted, people try to help that child.