There's A Way Of Playing Safe, There's

When You Hear Bach Or Mozart, You Hear Perfection. Remember That Bach, Mozart And Beethoven Were Great Improvisers. I Can Hear That In Their Music.

When I Was 20, Shostakovich Was My Favorite Composer. I Still Find His Fifth Symphony Wonderful, With Its Outstanding Themes And Rhythms. That's The Piece That Made Me Want To Be A Classical Composer.

I Was Always Very Aware Of Drummers. My Oldest Brother Henry Was A Drummer, And He Drummed On Everything In The House From The Kitchen Sink To Stovepipes. He Was The First Drummer In The Gil Evans Orchestra, So You've Got To Know How Great He Was.

There Are A Lot Of People On The Lowest Rung Of Jacob's Ladder, And We Must Somehow Reach Down, Give Them A Hand, And Make Them Want To Climb. A Little Really Good Music Never Hurt Anyone. And When People Are Given Good Music They Can Grow Spiritually And Even Discover They Like It.

One Of The Reasons I Believe In Jazz Is That The Oneness Of Man Can Come Through The Rhythm Of Your Heart. It’s The Same Anyplace In The World, That Heartbeat. It’s The First Thing You Hear When You’re Born — Or Before You’re Born — And It’s The Last Thing You Hear.