“You can tell whether a person plays well or not by the way he carries the instrument, whether it means something to him or not.”

It takes a long time to sound like yourself.

I don’t pay no attention to what critics say about me, the good or the bad. The toughest critic I got is myself…and I’m too vain to play anything I think is bad.

Food makes my mind sluggish.

If you love them in the morning with their eyes full of crust; if you love them at night with their hair full of rollers, chances are, you’re in love.

I never thought Jazz was meant to be a museum piece like other dead things once considered artistic.

Look, man, all I am is a trumpet player.

Don’t worry about playing a lot of notes. Just find one pretty one.

Knowledge is freedom and ignorance is slavery.

Some musicians play with their heart, you know what I mean? I don’t know what to tell a person that can’t – if you can’t tell a person what you’re talkin’ about when they’re rushin’ or droppin’ the tempo, you get somebody else.

For me, music and life are all about style.

Music is a funny thing when you really come to think about it.

Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.

You have to practice for a long time before you can learn to sound like yourself.

You have to know 400 notes that you can play, then pick the right four.

If somebody told me I only had an hour to live, I’d spend it choking a white man. I’d do it nice and slow.

Play what you know and then play above that