Somehow I Suspect That If Shakespeare Were

Billy Strayhorn Was My Right Arm, My Left Arm, All The Eyes In The Back Of My Head, My Brainwaves In His Head, And His In Mine.

There Are Simply Two Kinds Of Music, Good Music And The Other Kind ... The Only Yardstick By Which The Result Should Be Judged Is Simply That Of How It Sounds. If It Sounds Good It's Successful; If It Doesn't It Has Failed.

In Music, As You Develop A Theme Or Musical Idea, There Are Many Points At Which Directions Must Be Decided, And At Any Time I Was In The Throes Of Debate With Myself, Harmonically Or Melodically, I Would Turn To Billy Strayhorn. We Would Talk, And Then The Whole World Would Come Into Focus. The Steady Hand Of His Good Judgment Pointed To The Clear Way That Was Fitting For Us. He Was Not, As He Was Often Referred To By Many, My Alter Ego. Billy Strayhorn Was My Right Arm, My Left Arm, All The Eyes In The Back Of My Head, My Brainwaves In His Head, And His In Mine.

Music Is The Tonal Reflection Of Beauty.

Put It This Way: Jazz Is A Good Barometer Of Freedom... In Its Beginnings, The United States Of America Spawned Certain Ideals Of Freedom And Independence Through Which, Eventually, Jazz Was Evolved, And The Music Is So Free That Many People Say It Is The Only Unhampered, Unhindered Expression Of Complete Freedom Yet Produced In This Country.