--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One performer whose band played my music…" description: "\"One performer whose band played my music better than I could myself was Art Farmer. He recorded 'Sing Me Softly of the Blues' and 'Ad Infinitum'.\" — Ca..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/carla-bley-28151_ads_one-performer-whose-band-played-my-music_21409.png" --- # One performer whose band played my music better than I… ![“One performer whose band played my music better than I could myself was Art Farmer. He recorded 'Sing Me Softly of the Blues' and 'Ad Infinitum'.” quote by Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/carla-bley-28151_ads_one-performer-whose-band-played-my-music_21409.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/carla-bley-28151_ads_one-performer-whose-band-played-my-music_21409.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/carla-bley-28151_ads_one-performer-whose-band-played-my-music_21409.png) > “One performer whose band played my music better than I could myself was Art Farmer. He recorded 'Sing Me Softly of the Blues' and 'Ad Infinitum'.” [Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker admires Art Farmer’s ability to interpret and perform their compositions with greater skill than the speaker themselves. **In simple terms:** Recognition of superior artistic interpretation. Key Takeaway Great musicians can elevate others' works. Themes musical collaboration interpretation humility artist admiration musical excellence Mood appreciative reflective Type testimonial personal anecdote When to use this quote - listening to a recording - attending a live jazz set - studying a peer’s rendition Key Concepts musical performance arrangement creative partnership Practical Applications - seeking inspiration from skilled performers - learning new approaches to one's own compositions Questions to Reflect On - How does another artist’s rendition change your perception of your own work? - What can you learn from observing superior interpretations? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ads/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-farmer-398291/) [Band](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/band/) [Farmer Recorded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/farmer-recorded-398293/) [Farmers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/farmers/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Music Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-better/) [Music is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-is/) [Music making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-making/) [Performer Band](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performer-band-398292/) [Performers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/performers/) [Played Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/played-music/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [ \[Gord\] Downie has become more animated than the early days, but he's still the same charismatic performer. And as a whole, that band is… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-harmer/gord-downie-has-become-more-animated-than-the-early-days-but-he-s/) [Sarah Harmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-harmer/) > [If the Christian community responds to our music better because maybe we gained a little more credibility in the mainstream, then it's not ideal,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-martel/if-the-christian-community-responds-to-our-music-better-because-maybe/) [Marc Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-martel/) > [There's too much emphasis on backstory and personal stuff in music now - it's not going to make the music better if I hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-scally/there-s-too-much-emphasis-on-backstory-and-personal-stuff-in-music/) [Alex Scally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-scally/) > [I've been on the songs of all these rappers that put out an album, and my music is still better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/future/i-ve-been-on-the-songs-of-all-these-rappers-that-put-out-an-album-and/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/future/) > [Great music is better than it can be performed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artur-schnabel/great-music-is-better-than-it-can-be-performed/) [Artur Schnabel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artur-schnabel/) > [The music has a better feeling when you're responding to what's going on. Music is like playing handball, playing catch with someone, not playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaimoe/the-music-has-a-better-feeling-when-you-re-responding-to-what-s-going/) [Jaimoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaimoe/) > [Music has never been at a better time then it is right now, we're really lucky to be a part of this wonderful thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tre-cool/music-has-never-been-at-a-better-time-then-it-is-right-now-we-re/) [Tre Cool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tre-cool/) > [The louder the music, the better I feel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajat-dogra/the-louder-the-music-the-better-i-feel/) [Rajat DOGRA](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajat-dogra/) > [Fuck you. My music is better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-2/fuck-you-my-music-is-better/) [Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-2/) > [Somebody under 30, if the name Frank Zappa came up, they would just say, "Who?" To me that didn't sit well, because I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dweezil-zappa/somebody-under-30-if-the-name-frank-zappa-came-up-they-would-just-say/) [Dweezil Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dweezil-zappa/) > [I always tell the fans, 'Screw it! Like what you like. Listen to what you want.' Insisting that one type of music is better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/i-always-tell-the-fans-screw-it-like-what-you-like-listen-to-what-you/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [I think music is better listened to with other people. Music is better shared. It depends what situation you're in - if it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-odell/i-think-music-is-better-listened-to-with-other-people-music-is-better/) [Tom Odell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-odell/) > [What music is better able to do than language is to represent the complexity of human emotional states.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-levitin/what-music-is-better-able-to-do-than-language-is-to-represent-the/) [Daniel Levitin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-levitin/) > [We want to return to an era when we think music was better basically but still infuse it with something modern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemp-muhl/we-want-to-return-to-an-era-when-we-think-music-was-better-basically/) [Kemp Muhl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemp-muhl/) > [I like to collaborate with other people for studio recordings because I believe collaboration, in any form, makes music better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-barlow/i-like-to-collaborate-with-other-people-for-studio-recordings-because/) [Lou Barlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-barlow/) ## More by Carla Bley > [I got started when I was 3 years old because my father was a music teacher and my lessons were free. Instead of learning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/i-got-started-when-i-was-3-years-old-because-my-father-was-a-music/) [Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/) > [When you have 13 horns, and one is soloing, you have 12 people to play the richest, fullest chord you could ever imagine behind that solo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/when-you-have-13-horns-and-one-is-soloing-you-have-12-people-to-play/) [Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/) > [I still prefer the bebop of the '40s. The very stuff I started out with is still the best to me. I have come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/i-still-prefer-the-bebop-of-the-40s-the-very-stuff-i-started-out-with/) [Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/) > [I don't enjoy traveling in America. I don't like the food, the cars. It is not exotic enough. It all tastes a bit like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/i-don-t-enjoy-traveling-in-america-i-don-t-like-the-food-the-cars-it/) [Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/) > [There are times when what's happening in rock is the best music in the world, and there are times when there is nothing worthwhile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/there-are-times-when-what-s-happening-in-rock-is-the-best-music-in/) [Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/) > [Listening is more important than anything else because that's what music is. Somebody is playing something and you're receiving it. It is sending and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/listening-is-more-important-than-anything-else-because-that-s-what/) [Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/) > [When Ronald Reagan was elected I was on a bus traveling with a band in France. I wrote a little arrangement of The Star…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/when-ronald-reagan-was-elected-i-was-on-a-bus-traveling-with-a-band/) [Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/) > [Living composers writing for big band are very few and far between. There are not a lot of them, and I have a talent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/living-composers-writing-for-big-band-are-very-few-and-far-between/) [Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/) > [I don't think you can ever regain your ignorance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/i-don-t-think-you-can-ever-regain-your-ignorance/) [Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/) > [I write very slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/i-write-very-slowly/) [Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/) > [It would be really hard to get serious about anything political today unless it was a joke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/it-would-be-really-hard-to-get-serious-about-anything-political-today/) [Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/) > [I just got to hear every note. After I left Birdland, I started working at the Jazz Gallery. In the end, I still couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/i-just-got-to-hear-every-note-after-i-left-birdland-i-started-working/) [Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/) > [Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker seemed so sophisticated and bad. I wanted to be like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/gerry-mulligan-and-chet-baker-seemed-so-sophisticated-and-bad-i/) [Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/) > [When you are studying jazz, the best thing to do is listen to records or listen to live music. It isn't as though you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/when-you-are-studying-jazz-the-best-thing-to-do-is-listen-to-records/) [Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/) > [What's interesting about a person without problems?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/what-s-interesting-about-a-person-without-problems/) [Carla Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/) [Explore all 19 Carla Bley quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/) ## More Ads quotes > [A home isn't just a roof over our heads. A home is a place where we feel loved and where we love others. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/a-home-isn-t-just-a-roof-over-our-heads-a-home-is-a-place-where-we/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Metallica's the only band i've ever been in. I'm not sure that when it ends in five, ten years, I'm going to put an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-ulrich/metallica-s-the-only-band-i-ve-ever-been-in-i-m-not-sure-that-when-it/) [Lars Ulrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-ulrich/) > [As a Fundamentalist I had discovered while I was in college that it is possible to dismiss the entire Church as having gone off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-howard-3rd-duke-of-norfolk/as-a-fundamentalist-i-had-discovered-while-i-was-in-college-that-it/) [Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-howard-3rd-duke-of-norfolk/) > [ The most recent incarnation of \[Bob\] Dylan has been the traveling journeyman/ charlatan who sings roots music, snarls dark lyrics that make "All Along… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/the-most-recent-incarnation-of-bob-dylan-has-been-the-traveling/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [What every human being should do is eat a vegetarian diet based on whole foods. Period. That's it. Animal protein is bad for you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/what-every-human-being-should-do-is-eat-a-vegetarian-diet-based-on/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [In market research I did at Microsoft Corp. in the early 1990s, I estimated that the 'Wall Street Journal' took in about 75 cents…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/in-market-research-i-did-at-microsoft-corp-in-the-early-1990s-i/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [Donald Trump threatened to file a defamation suit against me for running a TV ad that consisted only entirely of his own words on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/donald-trump-threatened-to-file-a-defamation-suit-against-me-for/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [There is nothing personal about a personal ad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-smith/there-is-nothing-personal-about-a-personal-ad/) [Wes Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-smith/) > [Google has - at least at this point - maintained the line where it keeps organic results separate from the advertisements. But over time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wu/google-has-at-least-at-this-point-maintained-the-line-where-it-keeps/) [Tim Wu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wu/) > [I am terrible at memorizing things. Hence, ad-libbing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-weatherly/i-am-terrible-at-memorizing-things-hence-ad-libbing/) [Michael Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-weatherly/) > [In a recent attack ad, the NRA claims that President Obama cares about his own children more than he cares about other children. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/in-a-recent-attack-ad-the-nra-claims-that-president-obama-cares-about/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [Nothing's going to keep me from making music. If I were in the want-ads in the back of the paper or playing to six…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-grohl/nothing-s-going-to-keep-me-from-making-music-if-i-were-in-the-want/) [Dave Grohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-grohl/) > [For me, being on set is no different than being at a dinner table or riding the subway next to someone; inevitably their life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-mahoney/for-me-being-on-set-is-no-different-than-being-at-a-dinner-table-or/) [Victoria Mahoney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-mahoney/) > [We assumed the customers were smart and that they'll buy what they like, not what the ads tell them to buy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renzo-rosso/we-assumed-the-customers-were-smart-and-that-they-ll-buy-what-they/) [Renzo Rosso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renzo-rosso/) > [Expensive, well-executed, and familiar ads convince the investors, as nothing in the black and white tables of assets and debits can, that the company…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-schudson/expensive-well-executed-and-familiar-ads-convince-the-investors-as/) [Michael Schudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-schudson/) [Browse all 856 Ads quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ads/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One performer whose band played my music better than I could myself was Art Farmer. He recorded 'Sing Me Softly of the Blues' and 'Ad Infinitum'.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Carla Bley" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/one-performer-whose-band-played-my-music-better-than-i-could-myself/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ads" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/one-performer-whose-band-played-my-music-better-than-i-could-myself/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/carla-bley-28151_ads_one-performer-whose-band-played-my-music_21409.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/carla-bley-28151_ads_one-performer-whose-band-played-my-music_21409.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/46c/carla-bley-28151_ads_one-performer-whose-band-played-my-music_21409.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One performer whose band played my music better than I could myself was Art Farmer. He recorded 'Sing Me…” — Carla Bley", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Carla Bley", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-bley/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One performer whose band played my...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/one-performer-whose-band-played-my-music-better-than-i-could-myself/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-bley/one-performer-whose-band-played-my-music-better-than-i-could-myself/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```