Quotes by J. J. Johnson

I became a big Stravinsky-oholic and became involved in listening to classical music. Mozart and Beethoven, no. Schumann, no. Stravinsky, yes. Ravel, yes. Benjamin Britten, yes. Paul Hindemith, yes. These are my idols, even today, in classical music.

I was lucky enough to occasionally break out of that racist situation that prevails in the Hollywood film production community. But it was racist then and it will always be that way. It will never be otherwise.

The jazz scene - or the lack of it - has no correlation to my move back to Indianapolis,'' Johnson told The Star in 1988. I wanted Indianapolis to be my home, and it is my home.

There are no black film composers doing the likes of Star Wars, doing the likes of E.T., doing the likes of Jurassic Park. There are none, nor will there ever be one. That ain't about to happen!