Best 709 quotes in «jazz quotes» category

Diana Krall knocks me out. I like jazz and I like her simple approach.

Diplomacy is like jazz: endless variations on a theme.

Dizzy, Duke and Charlie Parker were the greatest jazz legends of all time.

Don't be a perfectionist... leave that to the classical musicians.

Don't believe that jazz about there's nothing you can do, "turn on and drop out, man" - because you've got to turn on and drop in, or they're going to drop all over you.

Don t play this piece fast. It is never right to play ragtime fast.

Everybody in all countries tries to play jazz.

Everybody came. Everybody came to the Cotton Club.

Europeans really provided many venues over there and hailed the jazz artists, and a lot of musicians went over there and stayed over there for a long time. A lot of them moved over there, lived over there, and died over there.

Everything-everything-was communicated through the sound of the music. There were no other signals of any kind ever-no count-offs, head nods, spoken instructions...nothing.

Every day when I sit down to play, I learn something new.

External instruments are only extensions of the biological instrument.

Everything I've ever done was out of fear of being mediocre.

For me, jazz will always be the soundtrack of the civil rights movement.

Flexibility is an essential part of Jazz. It's what gives Jazz music the ability to combine with all other types of music and not lose its identity.

For me personally - because I do it myself - the scoring of a picture is fun. I edit the picture and when I've finished I go into my room and I have many many records - jazz, classical and popular music. And I have this all at my disposal. I don't have to get a composer.

For me jazz is kind of an extension of hip-hop. Kind of the sad thing is that a lot of jazz people just listen to jazz, and a lot of hip-hop people just listen to hip-hop, and there's not a lot of crossover, unfortunately.

For me, the main thing is spontaneity & taking chances.

For years, Jazz At The Philharmonic albums were the only ones of their kind.

Fortune ought to be a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master.

[Goodman] became famous (or notorious) for staring at a player he didn't like. It was called 'the ray' by his men.

Fusion has been my nemesis.

Genius is a word too often tossed around in musical circles.

Gospel music rhythms are not African in origin, although I know that's what the jazz experts say.

Frankie Randall is a consummate performer. He is an exquisite jazz pianist and wonderful singer. I had the great pleasure to work with him on the Dean Martin Show and I'm very proud to call him a friend!

Free form jazz means absolutely nothing to me. Because there are no boundaries.

Growing up, I was very much interested in jazz music.

He didn't say nothing. He would just do things. He never said nothing or explained nothing. He just would do it and that was it. You were on your own. You had to be very independent being around John [Coltrane].

He's no Bill Clinton!

Here in England we live at a slower pace, have more time to enjoy things - like good jazz.

He sounded to me like he's supposed to be the savior of jazz. Sometimes people speak as though someone asked them a question. Well, no one asked him a question.

Historians in the future, in my opinion, will congratulate us on very little other than our clowning and our jazz.

He would forget everybody's name, so everybody was called 'Pops'.

How do I know why Miles walks off the stage? Why don't you ask him? And besides, maybe we'd all like to be like Miles, and just haven't got the guts.

I always wanted to be a spontaneous composer.

I actually find a lot of parallels in jazz and cartooning.

I always say it's not my Arkestra, it belongs to some other force which wants certain things, to reach people.

I always called him the Dizzy Dean of music, he was so belligerent and braggadocio... But one thing I always noticed about Jelly, he would back everything he said by what he could do.

I always think of music as interior decoration. So, if you have all kinds of music, you are fully decorated!

I am a complete jazz nerd.

I am famous because I am an African American jazz artist.

I am a musician, but I'm another type of musician.

I can imagine an utter hatred for the jazz avant-garde.

I am not a jazz singer. I wouldn't place myself on that footing. I wouldn't even enter that arena.

I am viewed as the Negro who has gone outside of the categories assigned to me.

I can show you that I have played with just about every jazz musician, every African musician, every blues musician. It's not like I'm cashing in on a false concept. This is what I do.

I compose my pieces with a formula that I created myself.

I can tell whether a person can play just by the way he stands.

I can turn on some jazz guitarist, and he won't do a thing for me, if he's not playing electrically. But Jeff Beck's great to listen to.

I cut myself off from the mainstream of jazz. It stood me in good stead later on, as a musician.