"I started in New Orleans music and played all through the history of jazz." — Steve Lacy

You have to sound sad first of all, then maybe later you can sound good.

You can work on the saxophone alone, but ultimately you must perform with others.

Whoever has an original thing to say, it is sort of a threat to the status quo.

When I heard Monk in person in 1955, he was playing with a quartet in a small club. The place was full of musicians, but there was no public at all.