Prince.. a true artist in every sense of the world.Gone way too soon.

It's amazing how much trouble you can get in when you don't have anything else to do.

It's easy to get next to music theory, especially between your peers and music classes and so forth. You just pay attention. I had a good ear, so I realized that printed music was just about reminding you what to play.

I guess hip-hop has been closer to the pulse of the streets than any music we've had in a long time. It's sociology as well as music, which is in keeping with the tradition of black music in America.

Count Basie practically adopted me at 13. We became closer and closer and I ended up conducting for him and Sinatra.

You cannot get an A if you're afraid of getting an F.

Billy Strayhorn wrote Multicolored Blue. Billy to me is the boss of the arrangers.