“You can’t sing about love unless you know about it.”

Mental synthesis of psychic content in the unity of a moment-consciousness is a fundamental principle of psychology.

I don’t believe in angels and I have trouble with the whole God thing. I don’t want to say I don’t believe in God, but I don’t think I do. But I believe in people who do.

If you turn a deaf ear to everything but one style, pretty soon it’s not going to work out.

If you want to be a doctor, a lawyer you must go to college. But if you want to be a musician or such, study your craft. Study music.

I’m not much on gimmicks. I never have been because they don’t last.

I just went to Harvard a little while, because I graduated from Armstrong High School in Washington and then I went up there but I didn’t stay that long because I went into show business.

I don’t have perfect pitch, but I have relative pitch. I’m glad I don’t have perfect pitch because perfect pitch can drive you crazy.

My youngest daughter sings. She’s going to be very good. She’s graduated from Music School and she’s been working down around and getting her feet wet, you know. I had her out with me for a year just showing her the ropes a little bit, but she’s going to be all right.

If you want to be a musician, study your craft. Study music.

The elements of success. And my son’s very successful. He’s doing very well. And I have a younger daughter who sings.

You know, times change and the elements change along with it.

I was so enamored with the idea of being in show business so everything was bright to me. I mean, I didn’t think of it as being tough and things like that.

When Byrd came out of there, he had written a lot things while he was in the hospital.

My paper route money, and later, money I earned working after school in a print shop and a butcher shop went toward buying jazz records.

To me, jazz is a place where anything is possible.

He’s no Bill Clinton!

My short answer would be that there is no greatest jazz musician of the century. Jazz, like any valid art form, finds its greatness in its expression of the human spirit, and, to me, this can’t be reduced to a contest.

The strange thing about Africa is how past, present and future come together in a kind of rough jazz, if you like.

It doesn’t have to be happy music to be inspiring.

I grew up around jazz. I love jazz.

There are a lot of things I’m proud of, but the proudest have yet to come.