A song should have all the color and beauty of every rose.
The process is the most beautiful part.
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'm a great believer in letting lyrics just flow out, wherever they come from.
Let's not get too full of ourselves. Let's leave space for God to come into the room.
Count Basie practically adopted me at 13. We became closer and closer and I ended up conducting for him and Sinatra.