Charlie Parker stuck out in my mind.

Even the most jingoistic person would have to admit that even American cultural music comes from Europe. That's what classical music is, real European music.

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

I am a person who thinks about the music first in trying to achieve something musically valid.

We have to make ourselves as perfect as we can.

Improvisation is really not so much remembering things. And this is what I do when I play. I forget things. When I go on the stage, I want my mind to be a blank, so that I can - things can come into me without my knowing where they came from.

I don't want to appear hostile, like I'm hostile to L.A. or that I feel that the people don't appreciate jazz. I don't think it's that. I think it's something more. It's something a little bit more complicated than that.