When you're over the hill, that's when you pick up speed.

I'm a great believer in letting lyrics just flow out, wherever they come from.

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

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.

Hell, nobody knows where jazz is going to go. There may be a kid right now in Chitlin Switch, Georgia, who is going to come along and upset everybody.

I'm never in my life going to do a record that's a tribute to myself. I don't need it.

Everybody has their idiosyncrasies.