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

You want your parents to say, "Hey, I'm proud of you." When you don't hear that, you learn to compensate. You say, "Hell, I don't need their approval. If I get my music right, I'll have everyone else's approval." I didn't understand it then, but I now know that's what happened to me.

A song should have all the color and beauty of every rose.

I used to practice piano for hours, and now, with a synthesizer, you can input the music and the machine perfects the song. That's why we have so many people in the music business who should be plumbers. They don't really understand music because they haven't been trained.

I was inspired by a lot of people when I was young, every band that came through town, to the theater, or the dance hall. I was at every dance, every night club, listened to every band that came through, because in those days we didn't have MTV, we didn't have television.

I went with Lionel Hampton for three years. Out of that came a trip to Europe.

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!