You had many jazz musicians who lived in the United States, who had a hard time being accepted over here and had to play in sort of these inferior type dives.

Europeans really provided many venues over there and hailed the jazz artists, and a lot of musicians went over there and stayed over there for a long time. A lot of them moved over there, lived over there, and died over there.

What I am more concerned about is whether our whole civilization will be around in the next 25 years.

America is deeply rooted in Negro culture: its colloquialisms; its humor; its music.

Jazz is the type of music that can absorb so many things and still be jazz.

I feel that L.A. has not always been my strongest base for support. That can be for various reasons.

I think what we need is a more welcoming mode from the people who put on a hundred million country-western shows on television. How about a monthly jazz show?