"Louis Armstrong is a jazz ancestor, a kind of great-grandfather, or even an Adam of jazz, with Billie Holiday nearby …"

"[I]n the mid-60s during the deepening national traumas of the Kennedy assassination, Vietnam, racial strife, and turm…"

"I like Louis! Anything he does is all right. I don't know about his statements, though. I can do without them."

"I loved and respected Louis Armstrong. He was born poor, died rich, and never hurt anyone along the way."

"I knew Louis well, he had his crazy little habits. Everyone thinks he was a druggie, but he wasn't. After every conce…"

"My most revered idols as a kid growing up were Louis Armstrong and... Duke Ellington. When I got into the record busi…"

"Louis ... was marvelous to be with. He had tremendous warmth, appeal. And I idolized him, not only for how great he w…"

"He was the only musician who ever lived, who can't be replaced by someone."

"You know you can't play anything on a horn that Louis hasn't played — I mean even modern. … I love his approach to th…"

"The then president of ... ... ...showed up at the recording session ...screamed at me that I had to be crazy to recor…"