"There are some things you can't get over, and some things you can't get back."

"I'm not afraid to die. I've been dead for years."

"I don't dig that 'happy' jazz. I like to hear a guy play his horn, and I want to hear what he's thinking."

"I've been told that nobody sings the blues like Billie Holiday. That's because I don't sing the blues, I live the blues."

"I've been in more jails than I've had hot meals."