Originality Is The Only Thing That Counts.

Modern European Composers...have Very Largely Received Their Stimulus, Their Rhythms And Impulses From Machine Age America. They Have A Much Older Tradition Of Musical Technique Which Has Helped Them Put Into Musical Terms A Little More Clearly The Thoughts That Originated Here. They Can Express Themselves More Glibly.

I Didn't Even Start Playing The Piano Until I Was About 13 Or 14. I Guess I Must Have Had A Little Talent Or Whatever-you-call-it, But I Practised Regularly, And That's What Counts.

Jazz Is One Of The Best Things That You Can Find In Your Life, It Can Always Be Your Friend.

Gershwin's Tragedy Was Not That He Failed To Cross The Tracks, But Rather That He Did, And Once There In His New Habitat, Was Deprived Of The Chance To Plunge His Roots Firmly Into The New Soil.

Writing Music Is Not So Much Inspiration As Hard Work.