Zoot Sims quotes:

My mom would have liked it that I patterned myself more after Jimmy Reed.

We were all influenced by Lester [Young]. Listen to the records that he made with [Count] Basie. Nobody's got what he's got. He's still the daddy.

If I don't play for a while, it's just like getting hungry.

Music keeps people sane.

Ninety-five percent of my audience was white.

If I can't play music, what am I gonna do? Music keeps people sane. When you enjoy yourself, most of the time the people who are listening to you enjoy it.

As long as you've got your horn in your mouth, you're developing.

I just take a tune and play it the only way I can. That's it. I don't really dwell on it very much. Some people probably do. I can only say I play it the way I feel it.