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.

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.

To wish was to hope, and to hope was to expect

I couldn't claim that I was smarter than sixty-five other guys--but the average of sixty-five other guys, certainly!

The first time is always the hardest

I think I can say with confidence that it’s a lot funnier if you haven’t actually been attacked by a shark.

In the pulpit, were supposed to present the teaching with all of its unvarnished clarity, but when you step out of the pulpit, you have to meet people where they are and try to walk with them.

I wonder a lot about making things meaningful. You want to do meaningful work and make art, but you're making records, which is good, but you don't want to weight them - it's a very curious thing.

And then he [Mike Tyson] will have only channel vision.

Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it.

Gloom and despondency have never defeated adversity. Trying times need courage and resilience. Our strength as a people is not tested during the best of times.

Athletes, coaches and parents today are increasingly aware of the danger of concussion, and this awareness influences decisions about buying new and reconditioned football helmets.