--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Jazz isn't dead yet. It's the…" description: "\"Jazz isn't dead yet. It's the underpinning of everything in this country. Whether it's a Broadway show, or fusion, or right on through classical music,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bc/dave-brubeck-10370_broadway_jazz-isn-t-dead-yet-it-s-the-underpinnin_2916640.jpg" --- # Jazz isn't dead yet. It's the underpinning of everything… ![“Jazz isn't dead yet. It's the underpinning of everything in this country. Whether it's a Broadway show, or fusion, or right on through classical music, if it's coming out of the U.S., it's not going to survive unless it's got some jazz influence.” quote by Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bc/dave-brubeck-10370_broadway_jazz-isn-t-dead-yet-it-s-the-underpinnin_2916640.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bc/dave-brubeck-10370_broadway_jazz-isn-t-dead-yet-it-s-the-underpinnin_2916640.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bc/dave-brubeck-10370_broadway_jazz-isn-t-dead-yet-it-s-the-underpinnin_2916640.jpg) > “Jazz isn't dead yet. It's the underpinning of everything in this country. Whether it's a Broadway show, or fusion, or right on through classical music, if it's coming out of the U.S., it's not going to survive unless it's got some jazz influence.” [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Jazz is the foundational element of many American artistic forms, influencing diverse genres and ensuring cultural vitality. **In simple terms:** Jazz underpins many US arts. Key Takeaway Recognize and incorporate jazz roots. Themes culture music influence heritage Mood reflective proud Type observational analytical When to use this quote - songwriting - film scoring - theater productions - educational curricula Key Concepts American music history genre fusion Questions to Reflect On - How does jazz specifically shape modern genres? - Can other traditions be equally foundational? A Different Perspective Jazz may be overemphasized as a catch‑all explanation for all US art. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Broadway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broadway/) [Broadway show](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broadway-show/) [Classical music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classical-music/) [Coming out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coming-out/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Fusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fusion/) [Influence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/influence/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [There's a jazz influence in my music in general.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexandre-desplat/there-s-a-jazz-influence-in-my-music-in-general/) [Alexandre Desplat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexandre-desplat/) > [Without the jazz influence, the Black Sabbath drumming would be very different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ward/without-the-jazz-influence-the-black-sabbath-drumming-would-be-very/) [Bill Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ward/) > [I listened to Buddy Rich a lot, and also to guys like Clive Bunker, the original drummer from Jethro Tull. All these guys had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marky-ramone/i-listened-to-buddy-rich-a-lot-and-also-to-guys-like-clive-bunker-the/) [Marky Ramone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marky-ramone/) > [My wife and I went and saw John McLaughlin years ago playing at some club, and it made me feel uncomfortable. It made me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cliff-williams/my-wife-and-i-went-and-saw-john-mclaughlin-years-ago-playing-at-some/) [Cliff Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cliff-williams/) > [My dad is a big jazz fan, and that was the reason I first got into jazz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-chazelle/my-dad-is-a-big-jazz-fan-and-that-was-the-reason-i-first-got-into-jazz/) [Damien Chazelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-chazelle/) > [I started off with classical music, and I got into jazz when I was about 14 years old. And I've been playing jazz ever since.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbie-hancock/i-started-off-with-classical-music-and-i-got-into-jazz-when-i-was/) [Herbie Hancock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbie-hancock/) > [When I was a young teenager, it was all about The Clash for me and that sort of English punk stuff. Then the Clash…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-kurstin/when-i-was-a-young-teenager-it-was-all-about-the-clash-for-me-and/) [Greg Kurstin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-kurstin/) > [After I exhausted the blues thing, I got into jazz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-quine/after-i-exhausted-the-blues-thing-i-got-into-jazz/) [Robert Quine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-quine/) > [Jazz isn't as profitable for labels like Hip hop or Rap. Jazz needs subsidies to continue, just like European classical works of Bach and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-heath/jazz-isn-t-as-profitable-for-labels-like-hip-hop-or-rap-jazz-needs/) [Jimmy Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-heath/) > [Rock music was the death of jazz in a way. I know there's a bunch of people who say jazz isn't dead, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-hince/rock-music-was-the-death-of-jazz-in-a-way-i-know-there-s-a-bunch-of/) [Jamie Hince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-hince/) > [Jazz needs the help. It's the more sophisticated music. All the other music is on the TV, but jazz isn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-higgins/jazz-needs-the-help-it-s-the-more-sophisticated-music-all-the-other/) [Billy Higgins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-higgins/) > [Jazz is smooth and cool. Jazz is rage. Jazz flows like water. Jazz never seems to begin or end. Jazz isn't methodical, but jazz…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-wolff/jazz-is-smooth-and-cool-jazz-is-rage-jazz-flows-like-water-jazz-never/) [Nat Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-wolff/) > [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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-mingus/it-jazz-isn-t-like-it-used-to-be-the-guys-aren-t-together-they-re-all/) [Charles Mingus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-mingus/) > [Jazz, isn't that just a series of mistakes diguised as musical composition?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mckean/jazz-isn-t-that-just-a-series-of-mistakes-diguised-as-musical/) [Michael McKean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mckean/) > [Jazz isn't what you do; it's how you do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fats-waller/jazz-isn-t-what-you-do-it-s-how-you-do-it/) [Fats Waller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fats-waller/) ## More by Dave Brubeck > [I think the church should strive to give parishioners good music. Music is as necessary for worship as a building with a beautiful altar,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/i-think-the-church-should-strive-to-give-parishioners-good-music/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [My own Brubeck Institute in California is turning out fantastic young jazz players, and I know great things will happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/my-own-brubeck-institute-in-california-is-turning-out-fantastic-young/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [You have to be taught to hate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/you-have-to-be-taught-to-hate/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [When I was 20, Shostakovich was my favorite composer. I still find his Fifth Symphony wonderful, with its outstanding themes and rhythms. That's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/when-i-was-20-shostakovich-was-my-favorite-composer-i-still-find-his/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [Every individual should be expressing themselves, whether a politician or a minister or a policeman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/every-individual-should-be-expressing-themselves-whether-a-politician/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [If I told you all the people that have secretly told me I've influenced them, you'd never believe it, and you'll never see it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/if-i-told-you-all-the-people-that-have-secretly-told-me-i-ve/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [If there's a deadline, I work late. If not, I like to have normal hours, and get up early and work. When things are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/if-there-s-a-deadline-i-work-late-if-not-i-like-to-have-normal-hours/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [My mother Elizabeth Ivey Brubeck was a pianist who studied with Dame Myra Hess and Tobias Matthey. As a child in California I used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/my-mother-elizabeth-ivey-brubeck-was-a-pianist-who-studied-with-dame/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [That's the beauty of music. You can take a theme from a Bach sacred chorale and improvise. It doesn't make any difference where the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/that-s-the-beauty-of-music-you-can-take-a-theme-from-a-bach-sacred/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [After the Second World War, I returned to California to study composition with Darius Milhaud, who wrote wonderful works like 'Le Boeuf sur le…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/after-the-second-world-war-i-returned-to-california-to-study/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [I started growing up in a hurry and taking a lot of the philosophy I'd heard from church as a kid a lot more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/i-started-growing-up-in-a-hurry-and-taking-a-lot-of-the-philosophy-i/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [My dad was the manager at the 45,000-acre ranch, but he owned his own 1,200-acre ranch, and I owned four cattle that he gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/my-dad-was-the-manager-at-the-45-000-acre-ranch-but-he-owned-his-own/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [Many people don't understand how disciplined you have to be to play jazz... And that is really the idea of democracy - freedom within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/many-people-don-t-understand-how-disciplined-you-have-to-be-to-play/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [The reality for me is simple. When music is written, it is usually categorized as classical. When it is improvised, it can still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/the-reality-for-me-is-simple-when-music-is-written-it-is-usually/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) > [I was always very aware of drummers. My oldest brother Henry was a drummer, and he drummed on everything in the house from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-brubeck/i-was-always-very-aware-of-drummers-my-oldest-brother-henry-was-a/) [Dave Brubeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) [Explore all 66 Dave Brubeck quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-brubeck/) ## More Broadway quotes > [When somebody mentions that I did a play with George C. Scott, I'm like, it can't have happened. What was I doing on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-dano/when-somebody-mentions-that-i-did-a-play-with-george-c-scott-i-m-like/) [Paul Dano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-dano/) > [I thought my first few jobs would just be off, off, off, off, off broadway. And by chance and how the world works, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-dorfman/i-thought-my-first-few-jobs-would-just-be-off-off-off-off-off/) [Tommy Dorfman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-dorfman/) > [A lot of Broadway has that immigrant narrative of America as a place where you can become something else against all odds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-kass/a-lot-of-broadway-has-that-immigrant-narrative-of-america-as-a-place/) [Deborah Kass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-kass/) > [I would love to go back to Broadway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-finneran/i-would-love-to-go-back-to-broadway/) [Katie Finneran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-finneran/) > [“On Broadway it was still bright afternoon and the gassy air was almost motionless under the leaden spokes of sunlight, and sawdust footprints lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/on-broadway-it-was-still-bright-afternoon-and-the-gassy-air-was/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [That's why I had to leave Hair on Broadway, because I did it for about a year, and one night I was doing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-mcguire/that-s-why-i-had-to-leave-hair-on-broadway-because-i-did-it-for-about/) [Barry McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-mcguire/) > [I starred in a Broadway play that was Sidney Poitier's first directing job and the cast was Lou Gossett, Cicely Tyson, Diana Ladd and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-steinberg/i-starred-in-a-broadway-play-that-was-sidney-poitier-s-first/) [David Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-steinberg/) > [All of a sudden, I was a young kid in my early 20s, and I had a couple of Broadway shows to my credit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-tenney/all-of-a-sudden-i-was-a-young-kid-in-my-early-20s-and-i-had-a-couple/) [Jon Tenney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-tenney/) > [When I was little, I saw the play 'Les Miserables' on Broadway, I thought it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-tisdale/when-i-was-little-i-saw-the-play-les-miserables-on-broadway-i-thought/) [Ashley Tisdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-tisdale/) > [I never thought my life's path would take me to Broadway, but when I heard they were creating a musical based on one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-morgan/i-never-thought-my-life-s-path-would-take-me-to-broadway-but-when-i/) [Lorrie Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-morgan/) > [I aspired from early on to write a novel, to be in the 'New Yorker,' to be on Broadway, and at least in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-o-donnell/i-aspired-from-early-on-to-write-a-novel-to-be-in-the-new-yorker-to/) [Mark O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-o-donnell/) > [The Beatles have a deeper appreciation of all music. There's a humor, there's a Broadway sense, and later on, the Indian stuff came in.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-vivino/the-beatles-have-a-deeper-appreciation-of-all-music-there-s-a-humor/) Jimmy Vivino > [I remember going onstage on Broadway in this Leigh Bowery thing for a track like "Ich Bin Kunst." I've got breasts, this latex dripping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boy-george/i-remember-going-onstage-on-broadway-in-this-leigh-bowery-thing-for-a/) [Boy George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boy-george/) > [I am an off-Broadway, nonprofit kind of guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lapine/i-am-an-off-broadway-nonprofit-kind-of-guy/) [James Lapine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lapine/) > [I never wanted to just be on Broadway, I wanted to be Simba.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caleb-mclaughlin/i-never-wanted-to-just-be-on-broadway-i-wanted-to-be-simba/) [Caleb McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caleb-mclaughlin/) [Browse all 1,139 Broadway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broadway/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Jazz isn't dead yet. It's the underpinning of everything in this country. 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