Quote

Jazz is known all over the world as an American musical art form and that's it. No America, no jazz. I've seen people try to connect it to other countries, for instance to Africa, but it doesn't have a damn thing to do with Africa.

Jazz is letting everybody do his or her thing with the music.

Jazz is not the popular culture. Jazz is in the same position in our culture as classical music. A very small minority of people really love it.

So I went into jazz and performed in jazz clubs all over the country.

I love music, I love all kinds of music, particularly jazz. Jazz is an extension of America. There's no other country in the world that could have produced jazz.

As long as there are people trying to play music in a sincere way, there will be some jazz.

You had many jazz musicians who lived in the United States, who had a hard time being accepted over here and had to play in sort of these inferior type dives.

If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know.

Jazz was the pop music of its day, and all American popular music has stemmed from it one way or another.

Certainly, jazz has become more of a niche, which is surprising, because it's our music. It's the national music of America.