When I Choose Material For

I Only Knew Classical Music, Which To Me Was The Only True Music. The Only Way I Could Survive At The Bar Was To Mix The Classical Music With Popular Songs, And That Meant I Had To Sing. What Happened Was That I Discovered I Had A Voice Plus The Talent To Mix Classical Music Together With More Popular Songs, Which At The Time I Detested.

Music Is An Art And Art Has Its Own Rules. And One Of Them Is That You Must Pay More Attention To It Than Anything Else In The World, If You Are Going To Be True To Yourself. And If You Don't Do It - And You Are An Artist - It Punishes You.

As Far As Piano Players Are Concerned, Oscar Peterson Is My Very Favorite. I Also Like Mccoy Tyner. I Think That The Big Jazz Stars, Both Now And In The Past...how Shall I Say It? These Guys Are As Great As Bach, Beethoven; All Of Them. People Don't Know It Yet. If Jazz Survives And Is Put On A Pedestal As An Art Form, The Same As Classical Music Has Been Through The Years, A Hundred Years From Now The Kids Will Know Who They Were, With That Kind Of Respect.

To Most White People, Jazz Means Black And Jazz Means Dirt, And That's Not What I Play. I Play Black Classical Music.

It Is Difficult To Retain Your Standards With The Pressure Of Trying To Make Money, Which Always Has Its Rules...it's Hard To Walk The Tightrope Of Doing What You Think Is Your Best And Making Money At It.