I’ve been thinking a whole lot of things. Through the years, I’ve noticed you take, not only critics, you take the man on the street or some cat that think he knows a whole lot about music and records and things, they’ll come up and say, “Man, you’re doing all right but I remember when you was really blowing that horn.” And I’ll look at him and say, “Well, solid, Gate,” but he don’t realize that I’m playing better now than I’ve ever played in my life.

—LOUIS ARMSTRONG, 1956¹