"I ain't never gonna let no one tell me how to play my horn."

"Musicians don't retire; they stop when there's no more music in them."

"I don't like to be called a jazz musician. I'm a musician."

"I never tried to prove nothing, just wanted to give a good show. My life has been my music, my life has been my people. And my people is music."

"My music is for everybody. Black, white, green, yellow. Everybody."