Jazz Stands For Freedom.

I Prefer No One To Teach Me. I Prefer To Swing On My Own.

I Wasn't Allowed To Play In Some Universities In The United States And Out Of Twenty-five Concerts, Twenty-three Were Canceled Unless I Would Substitute My Black Bass Player For My Old White Bass Player, Which I Wouldn't Do.

Don't Be A Perfectionist... Leave That To The Classical Musicians.

And There Is A Time Where You Can Be Beyond Yourself. You Can Be Better Than Your Technique. You Can Be Better Than Most Of Your Usual Ideas. And This Is A Whole Other Category That You Can Get Into.

Duke Ellington, Art Tatum, And Many Other Great Jazz Musicians Objected To Their Music Being Called Jazz. While The Outside World May Want To Put A Label On It, Those Who Create It Think Of It Just As Music, And Tend Not To Classify It.