Ray Conniff

“I didn't get paid. I didn't even care that I didn't get paid.”

“I tell my friends about my conversations with my father - conversations with an artist.”

“I sat in at every club in New York City, jamming with musicians, because it felt right - and because it felt right and we were having fun - the people dancing and sipping their drinks in the clubs felt it too and it made them smile.”

“When I started out, all I did was play my trombone.”

“Don't make art for other artists or for 'intellectuals', make art for people - and if you can touch just one person in a lifetime and make a difference - you have succeeded.”

“If you believe in your art, and you love what you do, that energy will go out, and people will respond.”

“I went to the Paradise Restaurant on 49th Street and Broadway which was where they were playing, and I sat in.”