Musicians don't retire; they stop when there's no more music in them.

Very few of the men whose names have become great in the early pioneering of jazz and of swing were trained in music at all. They were born musicians: they felt their music and played by ear and memory. That was the way it was with the great Dixieland Five.

I never tried to prove nothing, just wanted to give a good show. My life has always been my music, it's always come first, but the music ain't worth nothing if you can't lay it on the public. The main thing is to live for that audience, 'cause what you're there for is to please the people.

All music is folk music. I ain't never heard a horse sing a song.

Music is life itself. What would this world be without good music? No matter what kind it is.

It is music developing on its own terms. It's the 'music now' concept - what are musicians doing now as opposed to a string quartet playing Brahms. It's music that's delicate and justifies presentation in a special format. That's why we wanted a creative space to justify it.