All these tales of people sitting down and composing symphonies just as though they were writing a letter are very much exaggerated; at least, it isn't that way in my work.

Life is a lot like jazz. It's best when you improvise.

True music must repeat the thought and inspirations of the people and the time.

Originality is the only thing that counts. But the originator uses material and ideas that occur round him and pass through him. And out of his experience comes the original creation.

Jazz is one of the best things that you can find in your life, it can always be your friend.

I like to think of music as an emotional science.

Look at the piano. You'll notice that there are white notes and black notes. Figure out the difference between them and you'll be able to make whatever kind of music you want.

Jazz I regard as an American folk music; not the only one, but a very powerful one which is probably in the blood and feeling of the American people more than any other style of folk music.

Music sets up certain vibration which unquestionably results in a physical reaction. Eventually the proper vibration for every person will be found and utilized.

I didn't even start playing the piano until I was about 13 or 14. I guess I must have had a little talent or whatever-you-call-it, but I practised regularly, and that's what counts.

Why should I limit myself to only one woman when I can have as many women as I want?

To be calm and compassionate you need courage and conviction.

The law of England is a very strange one; it cannot compel anyone to tell the truth. . . . But what the law can do is to give you seven years for not telling the truth.

Stand tall, smile bright, and let 'em wonder what secret's making you laugh.

I'm fascinated by the magic realism used by many writers. I think it goes hand-in-hand with the Indian experience. It's a very different way of viewing the world.

I completely lost everything, but I gained everything because I lost the fear.

It is atheism and blasphemy to dispute what God can do: good Christians content themselves with His will revealed in His Word.

I still have to audition for most things.

Every time I think that it’s not worth it – that the people in it deserve the misery of their lives – I come across someone who makes me rethink that.

I had met far more discrimination because I am a woman than because I am black.

Remember that God under the Law ordained a Lamb to be offered up to Him every Morning and Evening.