Don't go backwards - you've already been there.

Music to me is like breathing. I don't get tired of breathing, I don't get tired of music.

Many times during auditions, I was told that I couldn't carry a note with a bucket, and that I sure couldn't play the piano.

I heard someone say that all black people got rhythm. Bullshit.

I never wanted to be famous. I only wanted to be great.

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

You never can overwhelm an instrument. You will never get out all that's in an instrument. An instrument will bring you to your limits.