Louie Bellson represents the epitome of musical talent. His ability to cover the whole musical spectrum from an elite percussionist to a very gifted composer and arranger never ceases to amaze me. I consider him one of the musical giants of our age.

I don't do something because I think it will sell 30 million albums. I couldn't care less. If it sells one, it sells one.

We're not like pop musicians who have to perform the same top ten tunes every night of a tour.

If the average jazz artist uses his head and at the outset of his career realizes he won't play as well at fifty as he does at twenty-five, he won't be in a line-up outside the Salvation Army when he's fifty.

Too many jazz pianists limit themselves to a personal style, a trademark, so to speak. They confine themselves to one type of playing. I believe in using the entire piano as a single instrument capable of expressing every possible musical idea. I have no one style. I play as I feel.

I'm a musician and, just as the critics are hard on me, I'm hard on the critics.

He's not a performer, he's not a composer, he's not even a musician, but Norman Granz is Mr. Jazz.