Your mother’s heartbeat is the first sound you ever hear and your own heartbeat is the last.

Jazz stands for freedom. It's supposed to be the voice of freedom: Get out there and improvise, and take chances, and don't be a perfectionist - leave that to the classical musicians.

Jazz is about the only form of art existing today in which there is freedom of the individual without the loss of group contact.

Damn it, when I'm bombastic, I have my reasons. I want to be bombastic-take it or leave it.

Kinship doesn't come from skin color. It's in your soul and your mind.

It's like a whole orchestra, the piano for me.

The secret of a great melody is a secret.

I'm always hoping for the nights that are inspired where you almost have an out of body experience

Jazz is about freedom within discipline.

Don't be a perfectionist... leave that to the classical musicians.

We don't know the power that's within our own bodies

It is hard to stop a hopeful soul from the pursuit of passion.

In the light, he looked like a fallen angel asked to return to Hell.

To what greater inspiration and counsel can we turn than to the imperishable truth to be found in this treasure house, the Bible?

Art is the symbol of the two noblest human efforts: to construct and to refrain from destruction.

It occurs to me as we're all sitting here thinking of Mickey, he's probably somewhere getting an earful from Casey Stengel, and no doubt quite confused by now.

It is a great joy to believe that Jesus has been tempted in all points just as we are.

You make some big grandoise decision about what you need to do, or who you need to be, and then circumstances arise that immediately reveal to you how little you understood about yourself.

I wish I could show you...the astonishing light of your own being.

But love is blind and lovers cannot see