--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One thing about playing the real jazz is…" description: "\"One thing about playing the real jazz is that you can't count it.\" — Mahalia Jackson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c4/mahalia-jackson-15531_jazz_one-thing-about-playing-the-real-jazz-is_1677182.png" --- # One thing about playing the real jazz is that you can't… ![“One thing about playing the real jazz is that you can't count it.” quote by Mahalia Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c4/mahalia-jackson-15531_jazz_one-thing-about-playing-the-real-jazz-is_1677182.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c4/mahalia-jackson-15531_jazz_one-thing-about-playing-the-real-jazz-is_1677182.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c4/mahalia-jackson-15531_jazz_one-thing-about-playing-the-real-jazz-is_1677182.png) > “One thing about playing the real jazz is that you can't count it.” [Mahalia Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahalia-jackson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Real jazz cannot be measured; it’s felt, not counted. **In simple terms:** Jazz is felt, not counted. Key Takeaway Embrace improvisation over strict counting. Themes music creativity freedom Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical musical When to use this quote - live performance - jam sessions - musical composition - teaching improvisation Key Concepts improvisation expression spontaneity Questions to Reflect On - How does counting music affect its soul? - When is structure beneficial? A Different Perspective Counting can limit spontaneity and emotional depth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [I once tried to sing jazz for real. But jazz didn't do it for me. You can't have jazz without a jazz world, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-buckley/i-once-tried-to-sing-jazz-for-real-but-jazz-didn-t-do-it-for-me-you/) [Jeff Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-buckley/) > [Fuck what you heard, Fuck what they've been sayin', they keep hatin' so I'm just going to do my thing and they can keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savannah/fuck-what-you-heard-fuck-what-they-ve-been-sayin-they-keep-hatin-so-i/) [Savannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/savannah/) > [The thing about playing percussion is that you can create all these emotions that can be sometimes beautiful, sometimes really ugly, or sometimes sweet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-glennie/the-thing-about-playing-percussion-is-that-you-can-create-all-these/) [Evelyn Glennie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-glennie/) > [Bill Evans is a real serious jazz pianist who, in my book, crossed over boundaries in terms of color. He used the piano as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberta-flack/bill-evans-is-a-real-serious-jazz-pianist-who-in-my-book-crossed-over/) [Roberta Flack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberta-flack/) > [The cool thing about playing is that the more you do it, the better you get.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-vai/the-cool-thing-about-playing-is-that-the-more-you-do-it-the-better/) [Steve Vai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-vai/) > [There are wonderful things in real jazz, the talent for improvisation, the liveliness, the being at one with the audience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-matisse/there-are-wonderful-things-in-real-jazz-the-talent-for-improvisation/) [Henri Matisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-matisse/) > [In some ways, jazz is the most precise of art forms and the loosest in the sense that it's all about improvisation, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damien-chazelle/in-some-ways-jazz-is-the-most-precise-of-art-forms-and-the-loosest-in/) [Damien Chazelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damien-chazelle/) > [I would love to make a real jazz album someday because I never have. But that's something I'm not in a rush to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norah-jones/i-would-love-to-make-a-real-jazz-album-someday-because-i-never-have/) [Norah Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norah-jones/) > [I haven't got a great jazz band and I don't want one. Some of the critics, Down Beat's among them, point their fingers at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-miller/i-haven-t-got-a-great-jazz-band-and-i-don-t-want-one-some-of-the/) [Glenn Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-miller/) > [Kenny G is not real jazz. I don't even think Wynton Marsalis is real jazz. I don't think Harry Connick Jr. is real jazz.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lurie/kenny-g-is-not-real-jazz-i-don-t-even-think-wynton-marsalis-is-real/) [John Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lurie/) > [I've always had a thing for playing in front of people, and the nerves never really creep in too much for some reason for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-sock/i-ve-always-had-a-thing-for-playing-in-front-of-people-and-the-nerves/) [Jack Sock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-sock/) > [Playing live is one thing. Playing under a microscope is another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-lukather/playing-live-is-one-thing-playing-under-a-microscope-is-another/) [Steve Lukather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-lukather/) > [The thing about the show is that we are playing ourselves. So people feel they know us, which they do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-murray/the-thing-about-the-show-is-that-we-are-playing-ourselves-so-people/) [James Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-murray/) > [If I'm proud of one thing in my playing, it's being able to slow it down and focus on the melody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/synyster-gates/if-i-m-proud-of-one-thing-in-my-playing-it-s-being-able-to-slow-it/) [Synyster Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/synyster-gates/) > [I, of course, wanted to play real jazz. When we played pop tunes, and naturally we had to, I wanted those pops to kick!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/count-basie/i-of-course-wanted-to-play-real-jazz-when-we-played-pop-tunes-and/) [Count Basie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/count-basie/) ## More by Mahalia Jackson > [Do you know most of the Jewish songs have the same trend of sadness as Negro spirituals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahalia-jackson/do-you-know-most-of-the-jewish-songs-have-the-same-trend-of-sadness/) [Mahalia Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahalia-jackson/) > [The mind and the voice by themselves are not sufficient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahalia-jackson/the-mind-and-the-voice-by-themselves-are-not-sufficient/) [Mahalia Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahalia-jackson/) > [A great influence in my life was the sanctified or Holiness churches...Everybody in there sang and they clapped and stomped heir feet and sang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahalia-jackson/a-great-influence-in-my-life-was-the-sanctified-or-holiness-churches/) [Mahalia Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahalia-jackson/) > [The trouble with records is that they're too short.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahalia-jackson/the-trouble-with-records-is-that-they-re-too-short/) [Mahalia Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahalia-jackson/) > [I'll come to any benefit if I see SCLC get all the money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahalia-jackson/i-ll-come-to-any-benefit-if-i-see-sclc-get-all-the-money/) [Mahalia Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahalia-jackson/) > [God can make you anything you want to be, but you have to put everything in his hands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahalia-jackson/god-can-make-you-anything-you-want-to-be-but-you-have-to-put/) [Mahalia Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahalia-jackson/) > [How can you sing of amazing grace and all God's wonders without using your hands?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahalia-jackson/how-can-you-sing-of-amazing-grace-and-all-god-s-wonders-without-using/) [Mahalia Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahalia-jackson/) > [Gospel songs are the songs of hope. When you sing gospel you have the feeling there is a cure for what's wrong, but when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahalia-jackson/gospel-songs-are-the-songs-of-hope-when-you-sing-gospel-you-have-the/) [Mahalia Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahalia-jackson/) > [If you believe in God, He will open the windows of heaven and pour blessings upon you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahalia-jackson/if-you-believe-in-god-he-will-open-the-windows-of-heaven-and-pour/) [Mahalia Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahalia-jackson/) > [How can you sing of Amazing Grace? How can you sing prayerfully of heaven and earth and all God's wonders without using your hands?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahalia-jackson/how-can-you-sing-of-amazing-grace-how-can-you-sing-prayerfully-of/) [Mahalia Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahalia-jackson/) > [Anybody that sings the blues is in a deep pit, yelling for help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahalia-jackson/anybody-that-sings-the-blues-is-in-a-deep-pit-yelling-for-help/) [Mahalia Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahalia-jackson/) > [Time is important to me because I want to sing long enough to leave a message. I'm used to singing in churches where nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahalia-jackson/time-is-important-to-me-because-i-want-to-sing-long-enough-to-leave-a/) [Mahalia Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahalia-jackson/) > [Someday the sun is going to shine down on me in some faraway place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahalia-jackson/someday-the-sun-is-going-to-shine-down-on-me-in-some-faraway-place/) [Mahalia Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahalia-jackson/) > [Gospel music in those days of the early 1930s was really taking wing. It was the kind of music colored people had left behind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahalia-jackson/gospel-music-in-those-days-of-the-early-1930s-was-really-taking-wing/) [Mahalia Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahalia-jackson/) > [Faith and prayer are the vitamins of the soul; man cannot live in health without them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahalia-jackson/faith-and-prayer-are-the-vitamins-of-the-soul-man-cannot-live-in/) [Mahalia Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahalia-jackson/) [Explore all 43 Mahalia Jackson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahalia-jackson/) ## More Jazz quotes > [When you listen to someone improvise, the notes that are played are only half the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-laws/when-you-listen-to-someone-improvise-the-notes-that-are-played-are/) Hubert Laws > [I wasn't into jazz so much - I preferred things raw.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-page/i-wasn-t-into-jazz-so-much-i-preferred-things-raw/) [Jimmy Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-page/) > [Growing up in Iceland, it was very beautiful, very safe, but quite isolated. There was something about jazz music that had a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laufey/growing-up-in-iceland-it-was-very-beautiful-very-safe-but-quite/) [Laufey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laufey/) > [I didn't plan on rock-n-roll. I wanted to learn jazz; I got to know some people doing rock-n-roll with jazz, and I thought I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robby-krieger/i-didn-t-plan-on-rock-n-roll-i-wanted-to-learn-jazz-i-got-to-know/) [Robby Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robby-krieger/) > [Jazz is not something that can be defined through blunt instruments. It is much more poetic than that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/jazz-is-not-something-that-can-be-defined-through-blunt-instruments/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [When I was playing piano, it was like, 'I'm going to write a song using all the white keys.' My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) > [Jazz is the music of the body. The breath comes through brass. It is the body's breath, and the strings' wails and moans are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/jazz-is-the-music-of-the-body-the-breath-comes-through-brass-it-is/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [Bruce Katz is a spectacular talent! He's a brilliant composer and arranger who uses uncommon and unique musical intelligence to redefine jazz and blues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-coryell/bruce-katz-is-a-spectacular-talent-he-s-a-brilliant-composer-and/) [Larry Coryell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-coryell/) > [I think we've all had enough of Coltrane saxophonists. There's a case of someone ruining a generation of saxophonists, as Louis Armstrong may have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bley/i-think-we-ve-all-had-enough-of-coltrane-saxophonists-there-s-a-case/) [Paul Bley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bley/) > [Where human eyes have never seen, where human beings have never been, I build a world of abstract dreams, and I wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-ra/where-human-eyes-have-never-seen-where-human-beings-have-never-been-i/) [Sun Ra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-ra/) > [It's bluesy, rocky jazz. I call it soul music, but it's not James Brown soul music. It comes from my soul. It comes from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tinsel-korey/it-s-bluesy-rocky-jazz-i-call-it-soul-music-but-it-s-not-james-brown/) [Tinsel Korey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tinsel-korey/) > [I listen to classical music very much. There's a lot of jazz that I don't enjoy listening to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-konitz/i-listen-to-classical-music-very-much-there-s-a-lot-of-jazz-that-i/) [Lee Konitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-konitz/) > [My influences are jazz, blues, European classical music; they are rock music and pop music. So many kinds of music. World music from different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rokia-traore/my-influences-are-jazz-blues-european-classical-music-they-are-rock/) [Rokia Traore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rokia-traore/) > [Trombone virtuoso and innovative composer, Papo combines the best of jazz and Latin music to create a genre that is unique and wild. He's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-brecker/trombone-virtuoso-and-innovative-composer-papo-combines-the-best-of/) Michael Brecker > [My roots are in classical music and jazz, and I want the freedom of being able to improvise. This freedom is possible only in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adnan-sami/my-roots-are-in-classical-music-and-jazz-and-i-want-the-freedom-of/) [Adnan Sami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adnan-sami/) [Browse all 3,027 Jazz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "One thing about playing the real jazz is that you can't count it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mahalia Jackson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahalia-jackson/one-thing-about-playing-the-real-jazz-is-that-you-can-t-count-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Jazz" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahalia-jackson/one-thing-about-playing-the-real-jazz-is-that-you-can-t-count-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c4/mahalia-jackson-15531_jazz_one-thing-about-playing-the-real-jazz-is_1677182.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c4/mahalia-jackson-15531_jazz_one-thing-about-playing-the-real-jazz-is_1677182.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c4/mahalia-jackson-15531_jazz_one-thing-about-playing-the-real-jazz-is_1677182.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“One thing about playing the real jazz is that you can't count it.” — Mahalia Jackson", "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": "Mahalia Jackson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahalia-jackson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "One thing about playing the real...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahalia-jackson/one-thing-about-playing-the-real-jazz-is-that-you-can-t-count-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahalia-jackson/one-thing-about-playing-the-real-jazz-is-that-you-can-t-count-it/#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 } } ] } ```