At Verve, my bookkeeper would invariably say, 'Well, why do you want to put out Roy Eldridge?' Or 'Why do you want to put out Ben Webster? They don't sell.' And I'd say, 'Well, whether they sell or not, they're important, they should be recorded and they're what Verve stands for, so we don't have to discuss that any further.

You’re probably smarter than you present yourself.

Sponsors and networks will really go all out and simply evaluate people on the basis of talent.

As long as we're in a democracy, I have to give what I think the majority of people will enjoy.

I don't want to sound as if I'm doing something tremendously special. But I am a jazz fan.

There are very few groups that really stay together. The leaders of groups make enough money to be able to afford to work a maximum of 35-40 weeks a year.

I made it easier for many artists to play in certain areas.