Quincy Jones

“It's amazing how much trouble you can get in when you don't have anything else to do.”

“I didn't understand key signatures or anything, you know. I'd say silly things at the top of a trumpet part like, 'Note, when you play B naturals, make the B naturals a half step lower because they sound funny if they're B naturals.' And some guy said: 'Idiot, just put a flat on the third line and it's a key signature, you know?'”

“If architecture is frozen music then music must be liquid architecture.”

“Every day, my daddy told me the same thing. 'Once a task is just begun, never leave it till it's done. Be the labour great or small, do it well or not at all.'”

“I think the attraction of 'American Idol' is about the basic human nature attitude that is, 'We can put you up there. But we can take you down.'”

“Imagine what a harmonious world it could be if every single person, both young and old shared a little of what he is good at doing.”

“I got a scholarship to Seattle University and I was writing arrangements for singers and everybody. But the music course was too dry and I really wanted to get away from home.”

“Every country can be defined through their food, their music and their language. That's the soul of a country.”

“I travel like a maniac. I travel more than anyone I know. I love learning the languages.”

“After every war, there was a significant change in the music, and I can understand how that happened. If you participate in protecting the country, you think you can be part of it, but you come back home and it's worse than ever.”