I Wanted To Be Like

I Was Always Very Aware Of Drummers. My Oldest Brother Henry Was A Drummer, And He Drummed On Everything In The House From The Kitchen Sink To Stovepipes. He Was The First Drummer In The Gil Evans Orchestra, So You've Got To Know How Great He Was.

You Have To Be Taught To Hate.

Over The Years I've Had Strong Friendships With Many Priests. As A Matter Of Fact, A Group Of Christian Leaders From The National Council Of Churches Came To My House In The 1950s To Ask Me To Write Music For A Mass. I Didn't Think I Was Ready At That Time. So, In A Sense, I Guess Joining The Church And Writing The Mass Was A Culmination Of A Long Journey That Is Still Going On.

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.

You Could Play Probably A Span Of 50 Years Of Me Playing St. Louis Blues, And Most Of The Time It Will Be Different Every Time.