“If you listen to Louis Armstrong from 1929, you will never hear anythi...” — Steve Lacy Quote

“If you listen to Louis Armstrong from 1929, you will never hear anything better than that really, and you will never hear anything more free than that.”

“I started in New Orleans music and played all through the history of jazz.”

“People don't want to suffer. They want to sound good immediately, and this is one of the biggest problems in the world.”

“I love Ray Charles. He can still teach everybody a lot about how to make great music. Not necessarily how to make hits, but how to make great music. Of course, part of it is his incredible talent. Who are the greatest jazz singers in the world? Louis Armstrong, Billie Holiday and Ray Charles.”

“I watched the first moon landing at a bar in Paducah, Kentucky, a fact worth mentioning only because I still remember how suddenly silence descended on this raucous place when Neil Armstrong started coming down that ladder.”