If anybody was Mr. Jazz it was Louis Armstrong. He was the epitome of jazz and always will be. He is what I call an American standard, an American original.

There are 2 rules in life: Number 1- Never quit Number2- Never forget rule number 1.

Music, of course, is what I hear and something that I more or less live by. It's not an occupation or profession, it's a compulsion.

A problem is a chance for you to do your best.

There are two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind.

The most important thing I look for in a musician is whether he knows how to listen.

If you have a great band with a mediocre drummer, you have a mediocre band. If you have a mediocre band with a great drummer, you have a great band!

Everyone prays in their own language, and there is no language that God does not understand.

You have to stop listening in categories. The music is either good or it's bad.

I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.

Love is supreme and unconditional; like is nice but limited.

If you don't believe in the things you're doing, the answer isn't fooling yourself into thinking you believe it. If you don't believe in what you're doing, then you just shouldn't be doing it.

He conquers who endures.

When men are arrested without any legal basis and for political reasons, it's merely a routine, everyday occurrence in Russia, and hardly anyone has any sympathy.

It's not the black belt that you wear on your waist. It's the black belt in your heart and knowing that you can go out there and you can do it. That's what a true black belt is.

What a child digs for becomes his own possession.

You can never give up or get down on yourself. A true champion keeps his or her chin up and always takes life one race at a time.

I'm a very slow reader, and books of interviews are an absolute favorite of mine.

The first time I ever screamed at someone was in a scene, and I'd never screamed at someone in my life.

Jesus is not a memory. He is an actual, contemporary, reachable Person. He is the living Christ, who has the power to enter into people's lives and change and lift them up.

I just suddenly thought, people really get off on being scared. They pay money to see green foam come out of people's mouths.