Sometimes I get the feeling that there are orgies going on all over new York City, and somebody says, `Let's call Desmond,' and somebody else says, 'Why bother? He's probably home reading the Encyclopedia Britannica.'

I think I had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to sound like a dry martini.

I'm glad [Ornette Coleman] is such an individualist. I like the firmness of thought and purpose that goes into what he's doing, even though I don't always like to listen to it. It's like living in a house where everything's painted red.

We're working as if it were going out of style-which of course it is.

I was unfashionable before anyone knew who I was.

It was never supposed to be a hit. It was supposed to be a Joe Morello drum solo.

I would like to thank my father who discouraged me from playing the violin at an early age.