"The three great moments of my life had to be the concerts of Ellington in 1938, Dizzy in '48, and Ella in '52."

"Of course, it's fun to play with Blacks."

"The problem is the following, black music is increasing encumbered by white elements, often pleasant but always superfluous, easily and advantageously replaced with black elements."

"One ends up relying on pure musical inspiration, and failing that, the music won't lead to anything good, or it will alienate all but the most die-hard fans."

"There are only two things: love, all sorts of love, with pretty girls, and the music of New Orleans or Duke Ellington. Everything else ought to go, because everything else is ugly."