I didn't know Charlie Parker well, but I spent some time with him, and he was articulate and well-spoken with a lot of curiosity about music and the world. But the only way he seems to be depicted is as a junkie. And that's not the full picture.

In all honesty, I think I just played what I felt was right for me. And I think I would have done the same thing, even if I'd been born later, when Charlie Parker was influencing everybody. The truth is, I never gave it much thought. I just played what I had to play.

He's no Bill Clinton!

Get up from the piano ... Oscar is in the house. Who wants to be at the piano when Oscar is there? Find something else to do.

It (Strayhorn's Compositions) made us all think a little differently about what we were doing

At my age, I realize that my most precious possession is time, and I've got too much unfinished work to do to spend even a minute talking about myself.