The climate in the '50s and '60s for black performers or black people in the entertainment business was atrocious. It was atrocious.

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

I chose the trombone because the trombone players in the marching band got to be up front with the majorettes (because of the slides) and I loved that!

A lot of the guys were like that - Oscar Pettiford - they just took me under their wing, and that's why I automatically help young people. I just love it, because they did that for me.

Young people should travel, and they don’t. You can’t know if you don’t go.

Every country can be defined through their food, their music and their language. That's the soul of a country.

Let's not get too full of ourselves. Let's leave space for God to come into the room.