"I think that if you just get in there and play, it doesn't matter what kind of music it is, just play."

"Black people have been through a lot. We still got a long way to go, but we'll get there."

"What we play is life."

"I just want to be remembered as a good jazz musician and a good man."

"I never thought I'd live to see the day when a black man could walk into a white restaurant and eat."