Benny [Carter] opened the eyes of a lot of producers and studios, so that they could understand that you could go to blacks for other things outside of blues and barbecue. He's a total musician. He was the pioneer, he was the foundation. He made it possible for that doubt to be taken away.

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

I've always thought that a big laugh is a really loud noise from the soul saying, "Ain't that the truth."

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

Editing while you're writing is like strangling the baby in the crib.

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.

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