Everything comes out in blues music: joy , pain , struggle . Blues is affirmation with absolute elegance.

Jazz music is the power of now.

We looked up to our father. He still is much greater than us.

The only justification for looking down on anyone is that you're going to stop and pick them up.

Music is always for the listener, but the first listener is always the musician

But you listen to Coltrane and that's something human, something that's about elevation. It's like making love to a woman. It's about something of value, it's not just loud. It doesn't have that violent connotation to it. I wanted to be a jazz musician so bad, but I really couldn't. There was no way I could figure out to learn how to play.

Thank the good Lord for a job.