"You take a bit of the person’s soul and you put it on the canvas.”

I was living with an Italian journalist. We met in the States when I was in New York and shortly afterwards we moved in together.

Gaby Ford can mock the bad old days, but only because she stuck to her guns.

“I was 39 years old and I wanted to search for my own stuff, collaborations with jazz musicians..."

"Even if someone is very talented, if their name isn’t known, they may not fill the hall, so the producers won’t take the risk."

"Is Israel the cause of Al Qaeda or the fact that there are dictators in 22 Arab countries?"

"Italian politicians are ... unwilling to assess real problems and find solutions.”

"While I consider Rome to be very much alive, the Tiber isn’t."

“I am used to being very direct, precise... [In Italy] I am considered a pain in the ass..."

"The filo, the wire that is holding this whole thing together is Latin, whether you like it or not."