All Charles Mingus Quotes
- Anybody can make the simple complecated. Creativity is making the complecated simple. Anybody
- Making the simple complicated is commonplace; ... Commonplace
- If Charlie Parker were a Gunslinger, There'd be a Whole Lot of Dead Copycats Charlie
- I was born swinging and clapped my hands in church as a little boy, but I've grown up and I like to do things other… Blues
- I'm too busy playing. When I'm playing I don't pay attention to who's listening. When I was listening I listened to symphony orchestras, Beethoven, Bach,… Attention
- That sound in tune to you? Sounds sharp to me. Sounds like I'm playing sharp all the time. My singing teacher told us you should… All
- Bach is how buildings got taller. It's how we got to the moon. Bach
- Jazz is the language of the emotions. Emotion
- If someone has been escaping reality, I don't expect him to dig my music. Been
- I, myself, came to enjoy the players who didn't only just swing but who invented new rhythmic patterns, along with new melodic concepts. And those… All
- Tastes are created by the business interests. How else can you explain the popularity of Al Hirt? Al
- Most customers, by the time the musicians reach the second set, are to some extent inebriated. They don't care what you play anyway. Care
- Everything I do is Mingus. Funny
- I am Charles Mingus, half black man, not even white enough to pass for nothing but black. I am Charles Mingus, a famed jazzman, but… Black
- Most of the soloists at Birdland had to wait for Parker's next record in order to find out what to play next. What will they… Birdland
- It (jazz) isn't like it used to be. The guys aren't together. They're all separated. Individuals now. Bird was a symbol. It was a clique,… All
- I never heard my music played the way I heard it in my head. Head
- Making the complicated simple is true creativity. Complicated
- In high school I was on the basketball team, but the coach did something I didn't dig and the next day he looked up and… Basketball
- My son's a painter. All through school his teachers tell him he's a genius. I tell him to paint me an apple that looks like… All
- What do you think happens to a composer who is sincere and loves to write and has to wait thirty years to have someone play… Composer
- I admire anyone who can come up with something original. But not originality alone, because there can be originality in stupidity, with no musical description… Admire
- Creativity is more than just being different. Anybody can plan weird; that's easy. What's hard is to be as simple as Bach. Making the simple,… Anybody
- Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity. Awesomely
- Thelonius Monk went over to Bird and Bud Powell and said, 'I told you guys to act crazy, but I didn't tell you to fall… Act