--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I visited New York in '63, intending to…" description: "\"I visited New York in '63, intending to move there, but I noticed that what I valued about jazz was being discarded. I ran into 'out-to-lunch' free jaz..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/joe-sample-68838_african-american_i-visited-new-york-in-63-intending-to-mo_1833310.jpg" --- # I visited New York in '63, intending to move there, but I… ![“I visited New York in '63, intending to move there, but I noticed that what I valued about jazz was being discarded. I ran into 'out-to-lunch' free jazz, and the notion that groove was old-fashioned. All around the United States, I could see jazz becoming linear, a horn-player's world. It made me…” quote by Joe Sample](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/joe-sample-68838_african-american_i-visited-new-york-in-63-intending-to-mo_1833310.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/joe-sample-68838_african-american_i-visited-new-york-in-63-intending-to-mo_1833310.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/joe-sample-68838_african-american_i-visited-new-york-in-63-intending-to-mo_1833310.jpg) > “I visited New York in '63, intending to move there, but I noticed that what I valued about jazz was being discarded. I ran into 'out-to-lunch' free jazz, and the notion that groove was old-fashioned. All around the United States, I could see jazz becoming linear, a horn-player's world. It made me realize that we were not jazz musicians; we were territory musicians in love with all forms of African-American music. All of the musicians I loved were territory musicians, deeply into blues and gospel as well as jazz.” [Joe Sample](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sample/) ## 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 observed jazz shifting toward linear, horn-focused styles, feeling that true jazz embraces diverse African‑American musical roots like blues and gospel. **In simple terms:** Jazz was becoming narrow, losing its broader cultural roots. Key Takeaway Embrace all musical influences, not just mainstream trends. Themes jazz culture musical diversity heritage identity Mood reflective nostalgic Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - Music education - band rehearsals - recording sessions - cultural festivals - personal artistic development Key Concepts African‑American music genre evolution musical hybridity Questions to Reflect On - How can musicians honor tradition while exploring new forms? - What defines “authentic” jazz today? A Different Perspective The perspective may overlook the value of innovation within mainstream jazz. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [African american](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-american/) [African american music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-american-music/) [American music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-music/) [Becoming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/becoming/) [Discarded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discarded/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Free jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-jazz/) [Groove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groove/) [Horns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/horns/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Jazz Discarded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz-discarded-2292472/) [Jazz Linear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz-linear-2292470/) [Jazz music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz-music/) [Jazz musician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz-musician/) [Jazz musicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz-musicians/) [Jazz Notion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz-notion-2292473/) [Linear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/linear/) [Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lunch/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Moving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moving/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Musician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musician/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Notion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/notion/) [Old fashioned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-fashioned/) [Player](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/player/) [Ran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ran/) [Realize Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realize-jazz-2292471/) [Realizing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/realizing/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Territory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/territory/) [United](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I grew up in church. That's how most young African American musicians learn how to perform. You could be six years old and playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-glasper/i-grew-up-in-church-that-s-how-most-young-african-american-musicians/) [Robert Glasper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-glasper/) > [Michael Jackson fundamentally altered the terms of the debate about African American music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/michael-jackson-fundamentally-altered-the-terms-of-the-debate-about-2/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [I'd been listening to African-American music since the first record I ever bought, which was by Sam Cooke. And it sounds more like my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-toop/i-d-been-listening-to-african-american-music-since-the-first-record-i/) [David Toop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-toop/) > [“By the way, this tells you why Auto-Tuned vocals on many contemporary records sound so shallow and lifeless. It’s almost as if everything we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-gioia/by-the-way-this-tells-you-why-auto-tuned-vocals-on-many-contemporary/) [Ted Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-gioia/) > [What city has given the world more in terms of American culture than New Orleans? There is none. Not New York. Not L.A. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/what-city-has-given-the-world-more-in-terms-of-american-culture-than/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) > [I did a little bit to raise the dignity and recognition of the greatness of African-American music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ahmet-ertegun/i-did-a-little-bit-to-raise-the-dignity-and-recognition-of-the/) [Ahmet Ertegun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ahmet-ertegun/) > [African American music can't happen in Germany or in Italy or in Mumbai. If America disappeared off the face of the Earth today, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/african-american-music-can-t-happen-in-germany-or-in-italy-or-in/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) > [I had a fascination with the roots of African American music. That would have been my first education in music. I had a real…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hozier/i-had-a-fascination-with-the-roots-of-african-american-music-that/) [Hozier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hozier/) > [Michael Jackson fundamentally altered the terms of the debate about African American music. Remember, he was a chocolate, cherubic-faced genius with an African American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/michael-jackson-fundamentally-altered-the-terms-of-the-debate-about/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [I was born with music inside me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-charles/i-was-born-with-music-inside-me/) [Ray Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-charles/) > [A way to make new music is to imagine looking back at the past from a future and imagine music that could have existed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/a-way-to-make-new-music-is-to-imagine-looking-back-at-the-past-from-a/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [The talking shows are like free jazz. I'm just gonna go out there and blow with the idea of keeping it streamlined and not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/the-talking-shows-are-like-free-jazz-i-m-just-gonna-go-out-there-and/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [I don't like totally free jazz, unless it's done by somebody like Coltrane, who did bebop and cool jazz, so he was allowed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-densmore/i-don-t-like-totally-free-jazz-unless-it-s-done-by-somebody-like/) [John Densmore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-densmore/) > [I already experimented with free jazz in the 1960s and, in my opinion, to play free jazz, you have to be a perfect musician…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mclaughlin/i-already-experimented-with-free-jazz-in-the-1960s-and-in-my-opinion/) [John McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mclaughlin/) > [I've always explored things that people find a bit more freakish, like free jazz, and I'd gotten to a point where the live music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kieran-hebden/i-ve-always-explored-things-that-people-find-a-bit-more-freakish-like/) [Kieran Hebden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kieran-hebden/) ## More by Joe Sample > [I feel that Wilton Felder and Wayne Henderson have involved themselves so deeply into being Jehovah's Witnesses that Stix Hooper and I have decided…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sample/i-feel-that-wilton-felder-and-wayne-henderson-have-involved/) [Joe Sample](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sample/) > [I love to hear the note sing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sample/i-love-to-hear-the-note-sing/) [Joe Sample](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sample/) > [That was an idea of the record company, and also that was my first album after MCA and we wanted to come back with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sample/that-was-an-idea-of-the-record-company-and-also-that-was-my-first/) [Joe Sample](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sample/) [Explore all 4 Joe Sample quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sample/) ## More African american quotes > [This is, for an accomplished Latino, an accomplished African American, an accomplished anyone who disproves stereotypes, it's a constant battle in your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-sotomayor/this-is-for-an-accomplished-latino-an-accomplished-african-american/) [Sonia Sotomayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonia-sotomayor/) > [I grew up in Synagogue in the boys' choir. We didn't listen to music in the house; only at temple. Then I went to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-patinkin/i-grew-up-in-synagogue-in-the-boys-choir-we-didn-t-listen-to-music-in/) [Mandy Patinkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-patinkin/) > [I agreed a long time ago, I would not live at any cost. If I am moved or forced away from what I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-agreed-a-long-time-ago-i-would-not-live-at-any-cost-if-i-am-moved/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [There could be no more powerful argument against mixing religion and government than the success of independent African American churches in placing racial segregation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/there-could-be-no-more-powerful-argument-against-mixing-religion-and/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [“This popularity extended to Trump himself, who, according to private demographic research conducted at the time, was even more popular with African American and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-green/this-popularity-extended-to-trump-himself-who-according-to-private/) [Joshua Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-green/) > [American civil rights leader, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? Lynching is a murder. For the past four hundred years our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/american-civil-rights-leader-where-do-we-go-from-here-chaos-or/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [I know I'm more forgiving than most African Americans when it comes to second chances for White people who not only commit a racial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-capehart/i-know-i-m-more-forgiving-than-most-african-americans-when-it-comes/) [Jonathan Capehart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-capehart/) > [Some Republicans gave up on winning the African-American vote, looking the other way or trying to benefit politically from racial polarization. I am here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-mehlman/some-republicans-gave-up-on-winning-the-african-american-vote-looking/) [Ken Mehlman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-mehlman/) > [It's unfortunate that a lot of people think African-American female artists are monolithically R&B this-or-that, don't have to do anything by default.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/it-s-unfortunate-that-a-lot-of-people-think-african-american-female/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [Whereas our ancestors (not of choice) were the first successful cultivators of the wilds of America, we their descendants feel ourselves entitled to participate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-allen/whereas-our-ancestors-not-of-choice-were-the-first-successful/) [Richard Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-allen/) > [It may be changing, but still it's the one place, that total control of an institution, that African Americans have. So sometimes, you know,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-emerson/it-may-be-changing-but-still-it-s-the-one-place-that-total-control-of/) [Michael Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-emerson/) > [Most of the more celebrated names among African-American authors, poets, and artists are known to the world because of their association with specific cultural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aberjhani/most-of-the-more-celebrated-names-among-african-american-authors/) [Aberjhani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aberjhani/) > [I think it's easier for African American and white comics to be praised than it is Latinos because they think our culture or our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lopez/i-think-it-s-easier-for-african-american-and-white-comics-to-be/) [George Lopez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lopez/) > [“Alabama in 1927 alone, 27,701 men were arrested on misdemeanor charges and offered for sale by county sheriffs. In Blackmon’s estimation, “roughly half of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-haney-l-pez/alabama-in-1927-alone-27-701-men-were-arrested-on-misdemeanor-charges/) [Ian Haney López](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-haney-l-pez/) > [I'm just trying to touch the world and touch the people and just get good material. And show them that we can get it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-hardrict/i-m-just-trying-to-touch-the-world-and-touch-the-people-and-just-get/) [Cory Hardrict](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-hardrict/) [Browse all 1,848 African american quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/african-american/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I visited New York in '63, intending to move there, but I noticed that what I valued about jazz was being discarded. I ran into 'out-to-lunch' free jazz, and the notion that groove was old-fashioned. All around the United States, I could see jazz becoming linear, a horn-player's world. It made me realize that we were not jazz musicians; we were territory musicians in love with all forms of African-American music. All of the musicians I loved were territory musicians, deeply into blues and gospel as well as jazz.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joe Sample" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sample/i-visited-new-york-in-63-intending-to-move-there-but-i-noticed-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "African american" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sample/i-visited-new-york-in-63-intending-to-move-there-but-i-noticed-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/joe-sample-68838_african-american_i-visited-new-york-in-63-intending-to-mo_1833310.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/joe-sample-68838_african-american_i-visited-new-york-in-63-intending-to-mo_1833310.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c6/joe-sample-68838_african-american_i-visited-new-york-in-63-intending-to-mo_1833310.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I visited New York in '63, intending to move there, but I noticed that what I valued about jazz was being…” — Joe Sample", "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": "Joe Sample", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sample/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I visited New York in '63,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sample/i-visited-new-york-in-63-intending-to-move-there-but-i-noticed-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sample/i-visited-new-york-in-63-intending-to-move-there-but-i-noticed-that/#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 } } ] } ```