Be A Number One Yourself. And Not

If You Have A Great Band With A Mediocre Drummer, You Have A Mediocre Band. If You Have A Mediocre Band With A Great Drummer, You Have A Great Band!

Fate Is Being Kind To Me. Fate Doesn't Want Me To Be Too Famous Too Young.

The Problem Of Expressing The Contributions That Benny Carter Has Made To Popular Music Is So Tremendous It Completely Fazes Me, So Extraordinary A Musician Is He.

If Anybody Was Mr. Jazz It Was Louis Armstrong. He Was The Epitome Of Jazz And Always Will Be. He Is What I Call An American Standard, An American Original. ... I Merely Took The Energy It Takes To Pout And Wrote Some Blues. ... I Don't Need Time, I Need A Deadline. ...there Are Two Kinds Of Music. Good Music, And The Other Kind. ... Music Is My Mistress, And She Plays Second Fiddle To No One.

Jazz Today, As Always In The Past, Is A Matter Of Thoughtful Creation, Not Mere Unaided Instinct.