I personally think Miles Davis is a lot funnier than me. And he's working more.
Thelonious Sphere Monk: there's not a more perfect name to fit his compositions than that name.
Everybody ought to listen to Benny [Carter]. He's a whole musical education.
When I got through, Duke Ellington stood up and started the applause.
When I was a kid, I had some Charles Lloyd records.
I'd have no trouble being the barbecue kingpin of America. I'd just add it to all the other things I am: jazz musician, carpenter, architect, engineer and revolutionary.
Thundercat put me on to George Duke.
Miles Davis is one who writes songs when he plays.
I thought it was time to get a group together and the first person I thought of was Wayne Shorter. I called Wayne and in the meantime, Wayne called me to make an album with him, which was Super Nova.
Billy Strayhorn wrote Multicolored Blue. Billy to me is the boss of the arrangers.
When [Billy] Strayhorn came on the scene, he just blew us away.
The most ironic thing is my grandfather has his masters in music composition; he was a jazz composer. My dad was a musician, too. He played more, like, soul music.
Billy Strayhorn was my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brainwaves in his head, and his in mine.
The problem of expressing the contributions that Benny Carter has made to popular music is so tremendous it completely fazes me, so extraordinary a musician is he.
I think I just had it by osmosis: an appreciation of Duke Ellington before I really even knew who he was.
I haven't done anything with Chick Corea. He had a group called Return to Forever, and everyone in the group became a superstar. I would really like to work with him.
