I always stay out of the rehearsal room you know when they first come in. Then once they had chance to play a little bit, then I walk in. Because I've seen guys fall apart.

What I've got to live up to, is being myself. If I do that, the rest will take care of itself.

I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me-like food or water.

I had to pawn my clothes just to pay my rent.

Art Tatum -- he was a genius. And Einstein, not me.

It's like Duke Ellington said, there are only two kinds of music - good and bad. And you can tell when something is good.

I cant retire from music any more than I can retire from my liver. Youd have to remove the music from me surgically—like you were taking out my appendix.