Musician Quotes

You've got to appreciate the things that come from the art of the Negro and from the heart of the man farthest down.

With a guitar I would be able to express the things I felt in sounds.

Whenever I heard the song of a bird and the answering call of its mate, I could visualize the notes in scale, all built up within my consciousness as a natural symphony.

The name of my ailment was longing, and it was not cured till I finally went to the department store and counted out the money in small coins before the dismayed clerk. When I came to the house, I held up the instrument before the eyes of the astonished household.

The blues - the sound of a sinner on revival day.

Setting my mind on a musical instrument was like falling in love. All the world seemed bright and changed.

Saving was slow and painful.

Nature was my kindergarten.

My big ears indicated a talent for music. This thrilled me.

I think America concedes that true American music has sprung from the Negro.

I knew the whistle of each of the river boats on the Tennessee.

Life is something like a trumpet. If you don't put anything in, you won't get anything out.

Life is like a trumpet - if you don't put anything into it, you don't get anything out of it.

Nobody told me I was a child prodigy.

Jazz is about being in the moment.

Jazz has borrowed from other genres of music and also has lent itself to other genres of music.

It's not the style that motivates me, as much as an attitude of openness that I have when I go into a project.

It pulled me like a magnet, jazz did, because it was a way that I could express myself.

It is people's hearts that move the age.

In the past, there's always been one leader that has led the pack to development of the music.

I've been a religious, spiritual person for a long time.

I'm always looking to create new avenues or new visions of music.

I'm always interested in looking forward toward the future. Carving out new ways of looking at things.

I try stuff. I synthesize what's of value with some of the other things I have at my disposal.

I think there's a great beauty to having problems. That's one of the ways we learn.

I think I was supposed to play jazz.

I feel a lot more secure about the directions I take, than I might have, had I not practiced Buddhism.

Getting the Oscar had the biggest impression on me.

Creativity shouldn't be following radio; it should be the other way around.

But, the truth is that everyone is somebody already.