Best 44 quotes of Pat Metheny on MyQuotes

1962 to 1965, where suddenly the guitar became this icon of youth culture all over the world, thanks mostly to the Beatles. Add to that, that I saw A Hard Day's Night 12 or 13 times, and that the guitar was the one instrument that my parents absolutely refused to let in the house. So you add it up and see that irresistible forces led me to the guitar.

And if I ever DO see [Kenny G] anywhere, at any function - he WILL get a piece of my mind, and maybe a guitar wrapped around his head.

As much as I have done collaborations over the years, I am actually kind of a reluctant partner.

Avant-garde, jazz, pop, classical, country and western, rock, free, straight-ahead, etc. are ultimately meaningless terms in the face of the music being discussed at best - at worst, those terms often serve as code words for what is in fact a cultural / political discussion more than a musical one.

From 1962 to 1965, the guitar became this icon of youth culture, thanks mostly to the Beatles

I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music world and have been able to play exactly what I have wanted the way I have wanted

I don't worry too much about the fundamentalist principles that are in almost any discussion about Jazz.

If jazz has to be termed as a wave, then music is a sea, but if the reflectors in the water is the chord.

If you plan on continuing a tradition, it might be a good idea to find out just what tradition it is that you intend to continue.

I hate the way chorus boxes sound

I have to admit that more and more lately, the whole idea of jazz as an idiom is one that I've completely rejected. I just don't see it as an idiomatic thing any more...To me, if jazz is anything, it's a process, and maybe a verb, but it's not a thing. It's a form that demands that you bring to it things athat are valuable to you, that are personal to you. That, for me, is a pretty serious distinction that doesn't have anything to do with blues, or swing, or any of these other things that tend to be listed as essentials in order for music to be jazz with a capital J.

Im always trying to find connections between things. That art is the juxtaposition of a lot of things that seem unrelated but add up to something recognizable.

I met Gary (Burton) at the Wichita Jazz Festival when I was 18 -- he was one of my favorite musicians and I got to play a few tunes with him there. Shortly after that, I joined his band, which was the equivalent of joining the Beatles for me! He was, and still is, one of the greatest musicians I have ever been lucky enough to be around.

I realized that equipment really had little to do with why I sound like the way I sound

I think I have a basic sound aesthetic that is in most of what I do

I think I represent a more left-wing view of what jazz is

I think jazz is actually quite unforgiving in its disdain for nostalgia. It demands creativity and change at its highest level.

I think that the melodic piece of the puzzle in music is the most esoteric and difficult to quantify.

I try to be prepared for the moment, through understanding, and being warmed up, knowing all about chords and scales, so I don't even have to think and I can get right to what it is I want to say.

It's a shame that jazz is now being turned into dried fruit. It's becoming quantized, diced and defined. It's becoming an idiom. To me if it's anything, jazz is a verb ? it's more like a process than it is a thing.

Its more about conception and touch and spirit and soul than whether my hardware was in place.

I was able to work with the best musicians in Kansas City starting when I was really young

Jazz demands that you bring to it things that are valuable to you, that are personal to you.

Jazz is an idea that is more powerful than the details of its history.

Jazz is not something that can be defined through blunt instruments. It is much more poetic than that.

Jazz music will continue to thrive, possibly in unexpected ways.

Learning to play is mostly about learning to hear, and learning to really listen deeply to sound in a musical way is a lifetime's worth of work.

Listening is the key to everything good in music.

Most guys at Berklee are going to wind up truck drivers.

Music is what you notice when it's no longer in your presence.

My first relationship to any kind of musical situation is as a listener.

My older brother Mike is an excellent trumpet player. By the time he was 12, he was playing around Kansas City in classical situations. He was already an amazing talent.

One very fundamental thing has not changed and I realized that it will never change... is that I really need to go home and practice.

People sometimes say it takes a long time to become a Jazz fan, but for me it took about five seconds.

Smokin' at the Half Note is the absolute greatest jazz-guitar album ever made. It is also the record that taught me how to play.

The beauty of jazz is that it's malleable. People are addressing it to suit their own personalities.

The best musicians are not the best players, they're the best listeners.

The first thing I learned was the theme from Peter Gunn.

The main thing in my life...is that I really need to go home and practice.

There's more bad music in jazz than any other form. Maybe that's because the audience doesn't really know what's happening.

The Unity Band project has been life-changing for me. I have led many groups of talented musicians, but this is unlike anything else.

...to me if it's anything, jazz is a verb-it's more like a process than it is a thing.

Whatever my recorded output is, it's a reflection of a general love of music.

What I look for in musicians is a sense of infinity