--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never really sounded like Bird, but…" description: "\"I never really sounded like Bird, but that was my mission. I didn't care if people said that I copied him; I loved Bird's playing so much. But Mingus w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc6/jackie-mclean-76393_bird_i-never-really-sounded-like-bird-but-tha_488456.jpg" --- # I never really sounded like Bird, but that was my mission… ![“I never really sounded like Bird, but that was my mission. I didn't care if people said that I copied him; I loved Bird's playing so much. But Mingus was the one that really pushed me away from the idea and forced me into thinking about having an individual sound and concept. That's what I got…” quote by Jackie McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc6/jackie-mclean-76393_bird_i-never-really-sounded-like-bird-but-tha_488456.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc6/jackie-mclean-76393_bird_i-never-really-sounded-like-bird-but-tha_488456.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc6/jackie-mclean-76393_bird_i-never-really-sounded-like-bird-but-tha_488456.jpg) > “I never really sounded like Bird, but that was my mission. I didn't care if people said that I copied him; I loved Bird's playing so much. But Mingus was the one that really pushed me away from the idea and forced me into thinking about having an individual sound and concept. That's what I got from Mingus.” Jackie McLean ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A saxophonist sought his own voice, moving away from copying a legend after influence from another musician. **In simple terms:** Finding personal style by learning from others. Key Takeaway Cultivate originality through diverse influences. Themes music creativity identity Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - solo performances - recording sessions - educational workshops Key Concepts improvisation influence artistic development Questions to Reflect On - What defines an artist’s unique voice? - How do mentors shape artistic direction? A Different Perspective Risk of losing audience if style changes too drastically. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Jazz music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz-music/) [Missions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/missions/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sound/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [I tell my students, 'It's an important tradition and you have to go back and hear this music and learn its language all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-mclean/i-tell-my-students-it-s-an-important-tradition-and-you-have-to-go/) Jackie McLean > [I have brightness in my soul, which strains toward Heaven. I am like a bird!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-lind/i-have-brightness-in-my-soul-which-strains-toward-heaven-i-am-like-a/) Jenny Lind > [There's a little pond near my house, and I see two swans there all the time who are obviously in love. But they look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-fielding/there-s-a-little-pond-near-my-house-and-i-see-two-swans-there-all-the/) [Noel Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-fielding/) > [My mother had a great voice. Not like mine, not like my sister's, not like my son's - a high soprano voice, but like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbra-streisand/my-mother-had-a-great-voice-not-like-mine-not-like-my-sister-s-not/) [Barbra Streisand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbra-streisand/) > [Every true writer is like a bird; he repeats the same song, the same theme, all his life. For me, this theme as always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alberto-moravia/every-true-writer-is-like-a-bird-he-repeats-the-same-song-the-same/) [Alberto Moravia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alberto-moravia/) > [“Fish have a tank, birds have the world. Think like a bird, not like a fish.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadia-conrad/fish-have-a-tank-birds-have-the-world-think-like-a-bird-not-like-a/) Nadia Conrad > [“Sometimes redemption lands in your life like a bird and looks you straight in the eye, even when you believe you don't deserve forgiveness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adriana-trigiani/sometimes-redemption-lands-in-your-life-like-a-bird-and-looks-you/) [Adriana Trigiani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adriana-trigiani/) > [“Let us be like a bird for a moment perched On a frail branch when he sings; Though he feels it bend, yet he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/let-us-be-like-a-bird-for-a-moment-perched-on-a-frail-branch-when-he/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [“Love is like a bird, they flies everywhere, its free, but its hard to trust someone where they like to stay.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erico-quiambao/love-is-like-a-bird-they-flies-everywhere-its-free-but-its-hard-to/) Erico Quiambao > [Fire up your heart for the wind is getting cold, now it always gets cold for the riders of the night. When you carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/fire-up-your-heart-for-the-wind-is-getting-cold-now-it-always-gets/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [“And I hope each morning you wake like a bird in a nest and fly without a thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-callahan/and-i-hope-each-morning-you-wake-like-a-bird-in-a-nest-and-fly/) [Bill Callahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-callahan/) > [I have found, whether you have a tiny business or a big business, if you don't jump on something right away, it's like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-corcoran/i-have-found-whether-you-have-a-tiny-business-or-a-big-business-if/) [Barbara Corcoran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-corcoran/) > [“Flight is many things. Something clean and swift, like a bird skimming across the sky. Or something filthy and crawling; a series of crablike…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-thompson/flight-is-many-things-something-clean-and-swift-like-a-bird-skimming/) [Jim Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-thompson/) > [In every persons life their should be a aim?a person without aim Is like a bird without wings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton/in-every-persons-life-their-should-be-a-aim-a-person-without-aim-is/) Hilton > [Running made me feel like a bird let out of a cage, I loved it that much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priscilla-welch/running-made-me-feel-like-a-bird-let-out-of-a-cage-i-loved-it-that/) Priscilla Welch ## More by Jackie McLean > [I tell my students, 'It's an important tradition and you have to go back and hear this music and learn its language all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-mclean/i-tell-my-students-it-s-an-important-tradition-and-you-have-to-go/) Jackie McLean > [If you can sing it, you can play it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-mclean/if-you-can-sing-it-you-can-play-it/) Jackie McLean Explore all 3 Jackie McLean quotes ## More Bird quotes > [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/) [Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“He unfixes the metal notch and slips his hand around the body of the bird. Feels its heat, its small heart beating. He stares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-schuyler/he-unfixes-the-metal-notch-and-slips-his-hand-around-the-body-of-the/) Nina Schuyler > [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/) [Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/) > [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/) [Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/) [Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Real like sucks the life out of losers. if you want to fuck with the eagles, you must learn how to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-like-sucks-the-life-out-of-losers-if-you-want-to-fuck-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If we studied birds ,maybe we could learn to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/if-we-studied-birds-maybe-we-could-learn-to-be-free/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) [Browse all 4,802 Bird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I never really sounded like Bird, but that was my mission. 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