In Jazz, improvisation isn't a matter of just making any ol' thing up. Jazz, like any language, has its own grammer and… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
One thing about excellence, it&Mac226;s an exclusive club. And it&Mac226;s only for those who really want to pay dues to the s--.… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
I had to figure out how to survive in New York, and most of my time was occupied in getting an apartment… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
Jazz is not just 'Well, man, this is what I feel like playing.' It's a very structured thing that comes down from… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
Jazz is not the kind of music you are going to learn to play in three or four years or that you… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
I think that virtuosity is the first sign of morality in a musician. It means you're serious enough to practice. — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
The blues. It runs through all American music. Somebody bending the note. The other is the two-beat groove. It's in New Orleans… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
Because the blues is the basis of most American music in the 20th century. It's a 12-bar form that's played by jazz,… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
My father is a jazz musician, so I grew up hearing jazz. My parents loved it, but I didn't like it. It… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
Nothing else will ever capture the democratic process in sound as perfectly as Jazz. — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
Blues is like the roux in a gumbo. People ask me if jazz always has the blues in it. I say, if… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
My father was a teacher, my mama was a community worker, I taught in so many schools. So when you get that… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
He [Benny Carter] is all that every jazz musician the world over wants to be. He's performed 20,000 nights. How many shoes… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
When I did the Abyssinian mass, I went through the whole history of the church music and the gospel music, even with… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
Jazz comes from our way of life, and because it's our national art form, it helps us to understand who we are. — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
The Duke and Swing represent affirmation in the face of adversity. — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
When those who are educated using their education to exploit those who aren't. That's what the sub-prime scandal represents - people of… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
To say that the Afro American created jazz doesn't mean anything bad about Anglo Americans, and I always teach my younger jazz… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
We created the spirituals. We created so much great music, jazz chief amongst our innovations, teaching us how to prize ourselves and… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
Some stances are just conducive to swinging. If I stand up straight for too long it's harder to swing. Plus my feet… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
I never minded giving my opinions. They are just opinions, and I had studied music and I had strong feelings. I was happy for… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
I always read all these books about the slaves. My mother is very educated. My father would talk to us like we were grown… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
“The best musicians know this music isn't about "schools" at all. Like my father says, "There's only one school, the school of 'Can you… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
Louis Armstrong is jazz. He represents what the music is all about. — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
And that's the soulful thing about playing: you offer something to somebody. You don't know if they'll like it, but you offer it. — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
I'm not a person who writes really abstract things with oblique references. I look at abstraction like I look at condiments. Give me some… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
Many a revolution started with the actions of a few. Only 56 men signed the Declaration of Independence. A few hanging together can lead… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
“Today you go into make a modern recording with all this technology. The bass plays first, then the drums come in later, then they… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
In the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra we play such a diversity of music, with 10 arrangers in the band, we don't really worry… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
Commercialism that has absolutely no relationship to quality whatsoever, only quantitative assessment of a thing. — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
Instead of imposing your will on every situation...focus on including everyone else, and just that little adjustment of attitude gives you the space to… — Wynton Marsalis Copy Share Image
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