Jazz Quotes

1344 Jazz quotes by 630 unique authors

Some guys said 'Here's bop!' Wham! They said, 'Here's something we can make money on!' Wham! 'Here's a comedian!' Wham! Here's a guy who talks… — Charlie Parker
I'd been getting bored with the stereotyped changes (harmonies) that were being used all the time. ... I found that by using the higher intervals… — Charlie Parker
I don't care who likes it or buys it. Because if you use that criterion, Mozart would never have written Don Giovanni, Charlie Parker would… — Charlie Parker
I despair about the lack of proper respect shown for the piano. If you want it to sound like a traffic jam, go out in… — Oscar Peterson
Too many jazz pianists limit themselves to a personal style, a trademark, so to speak. They confine themselves to one type of playing. I believe… — Oscar Peterson
I always say it's not my Arkestra, it belongs to some other force which wants certain things, to reach people. — Sun Ra
It ["Begin the Beguine"] became such a hit that it superseded anything that any band had ever had. It was the first time that a… — Artie Shaw
You know somethin', man? Some day I'm gonna be walkin' up the street one way and you're gonna be comin' down the other way, and… — Unknown Author
They always ask me the same questions. Where was I born? When did I start singing? Who have I worked with? I don't understand why… — Sarah Vaughan
What was the competition? Well, I remember this Puerto Rican who came out in a short skirt and a gun. — Sarah Vaughan
One never knows, do one? — Fats Waller
So easy, when you know how. — Fats Waller
Grab your pig's feet, bread, and gin, there's plenty in the kitchen. I wonder what the poor people are eating tonight? — Fats Waller
I was playing organ at a silent movie house at Harlem and they'd be showing some death scene on the screen. Likely as not, I'd… — Fats Waller
You could be my son. You even look like me a little bit... Say, who's your mother? — Fats Waller
Lately, Ive been listening to some jazz albums. I love the new Pat Metheny album. John Coltrane. I still like good metal, though! — Geezer Butler
In jazz, as in poetry, there is always that play between what’s regular and what’s wild. That has always appealed to me. — Robert Pinsky
Growing up, I was very much interested in jazz music. — Jan Hammer
Certainly one of the more common experiences in the jazz field is discovering someone new. Improvising musicians are capable of being musical travelers, voyagers. We… — Gary Burton
But if you listen to great piano players, both classical and jazz, theres a huge range of dynamics and colors and emotional expression thats possible… — Gary Burton
I was totally into jazz in my teens. — Andy Summers
Actually John, Paul Rutherford, and Trevor Watts, and several other rather well known English jazz musicians had got their training by joining the Air Force,… — Evan Parker
We all listened to a lot of recorded music, especially American jazz, modern jazz, and that's where our studies were and our inspiration came from. — Evan Parker
It's true I've always been attracted to the jazz band in an orchestral way, rather than a band way. — Gerry Mulligan
Now, the instrumentation in the jazz band and the jazz dance band has gone through many evolutions. For instance, in the 'twenties the tradition was… — Gerry Mulligan

Who Wrote These Jazz Quotes

630 authors contributed a total of 1,344 Jazz Quotes, led by these top contributors: