I've Always Told The Musicians In My

My Ego Only Needs A Good Rhythm Section

Jazz Musicians Are So Comfortable. The Reason They Can't Do What We Do Is Because They're So Comfortable Doin' What They Do.

I Used To Enjoy All The White Bands When I Was A Kid Listening To The Radio. But The Record Companies, They Take Music And Label It - Like, They Say "rock". Because The White Singers Can't Sound Like James Brown, They Call Him "soul". They've Been Doing That For Years. That's The Prejudice Crap.

Monk Taught Me More About Music Composition Than Anyone Else On 52nd Street.

Sometimes [playing Free] Doesn't Happen, Because Maybe A Guy's Wife'll Come In, You Know, And His Ego Will Catch Him. If Everybody's Completely Just Straight-without Any Old Ladies Over Here, A Fourth Of Whisky Over There; If It's Balanced Right, It'll Come Off. It Has To Be. But When You Get Egos Involved With Playing Free, You Can't Do It.