Jazz Quotes

1344 Jazz quotes by 630 unique authors

Dave Rocha is a mature and eminently musical improviser. His sumptuous tone and cafefully chosen notes embody real musical thought. His performance of 'Dear Old… — Unknown Author
First of all, I swore it was two people playing. When I finally admitted to myself that was one man, I gave up the piano… — Oscar Peterson
All art is communication of the artists' ideas, sounds, thoughts; without that no one will support the artist. — Lionel Hampton
There's more bad music in jazz than any other form. Maybe that's because the audience doesn't really know what's happening. — Pat Metheny
Jazz is a music that really allows a person to express his deepest self, his most personal self - Africa being the primary source of… — Unknown Author
He's no Bill Clinton! — Benny Carter
Without the beat in the background, Jazz basically sounds like an armadillo was let loose on the keyboard — Bill Bailey
Communication is the essential medium of a creative culture: the communal sea in which we all swim. A company that can't communicate is like a… — John Kao
Next to jazz music, there is nothing that lifts the spirit and strengthens the soul more than a good bowl of chili. — Unknown Author
It's sort of what jazz would be if it stopped being snobby and what rock would be if it stopped being stupid. — Andy Partridge
I think as long as people are around and can hear a record and hear people like Lester Young on a recording, there will always… — Sonny Rollins
If it comes out sounding like Dixieland jazz or classical or punk or rock or even slightly metal, that's because that's where I'm going to… — Ben Harper
So the whole basis for jazz music is based on the fact that the bass player could not play his instrument. — Miroslav Vitous
Bernstein grew up in my building in New York. He's a very, very fine player. When he was a kid, he came by to find… — Lee Konitz
There is an awful lot of what I call recreational jazz going on, where people go out and learn a particular language or style and… — Steve Lacy
Well, I had started a program which is even longer running than this one in 1967 which was a jazz program called The Best of… — Humphrey Lyttelton
You hear about the Duke Ellingtons, the Jimmie Luncefords, and the Fletcher Hendersons, but people sometimes forget that jazz was not only built in the… — Cab Calloway
I started to play Jazz music in my early teens. A boyfriend brought records over, so I listened to everything — Marian McPartland
I think we are in the midst of this period where we are committing this suicide on the planet and everybody is just using up… — Sonny Rollins
Louis Armstrong is quite simply the most important person in American music. He is to 20th century music (I did not say jazz) what Einstein… — Ken Burns
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 go… — Carla Bley
I'm sure someone out there has a workable solution. But what do I know? I make comic books and write about jazz. I do know… — Harvey Pekar
The real power of Jazz is that a group of people can come together and create improvised art and negotiate their agendas... and that negotiation… — Wynton Marsalis
Jazz took too much discipline. You have to come in at the right place, which is different than me singing the blues, where I can… — Etta James
Jazz is a music that is open enough to borrow from any other form of music, and has the strength to influence any other form… — Herbie Hancock

Who Wrote These Jazz Quotes

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