--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For me, let's keep jazz as folk music…" description: "\"For me, let's keep jazz as folk music. Let's not make jazz classical music. Let's keep it as street music, as people's everyday-life music. Let's see j..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/pat-metheny-8589_actual_for-me-let-s-keep-jazz-as-folk-music-let_1644592.jpg" --- # For me, let's keep jazz as folk music. Let's not make jazz… ![“For me, let's keep jazz as folk music. Let's not make jazz classical music. Let's keep it as street music, as people's everyday-life music. Let's see jazz musicians continue to use the materials, the tools, the spirit of the actual time that they're living in, as what they build their lives as…” quote by Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/pat-metheny-8589_actual_for-me-let-s-keep-jazz-as-folk-music-let_1644592.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/pat-metheny-8589_actual_for-me-let-s-keep-jazz-as-folk-music-let_1644592.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/pat-metheny-8589_actual_for-me-let-s-keep-jazz-as-folk-music-let_1644592.jpg) > “For me, let's keep jazz as folk music. Let's not make jazz classical music. Let's keep it as street music, as people's everyday-life music. Let's see jazz musicians continue to use the materials, the tools, the spirit of the actual time that they're living in, as what they build their lives as musicians around.” [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates preserving jazz as a living, street-level art form rather than elevating it to classical status. **In simple terms:** Keep jazz rooted in everyday life. Key Takeaway Embrace jazz’s current cultural context. Themes authenticity culture music heritage Mood reflective passionate Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - live performances - music education - community festivals - street gatherings Key Concepts improvisation community tradition Questions to Reflect On - How does street-level jazz influence community identity? - What risks arise when jazz is institutionalized? A Different Perspective May limit academic study and archival preservation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Classical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classical/) [Classical music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classical-music/) [Folk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folk/) [Folk music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/folk-music/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Jazz musician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz-musician/) [Jazz musicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz-musicians/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Musicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musicians/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Street](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/street/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Tools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tools/) ## Related quotes > [Jazz is the folk music of the machine age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-whiteman/jazz-is-the-folk-music-of-the-machine-age/) Paul Whiteman > [Shut up and let me see your jazz hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerard-way/shut-up-and-let-me-see-your-jazz-hands/) [Gerard Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerard-way/) > [What separates great jazz musicians from average ones is Taste. Those who have taste consistently choose notes, tempos, timbres and voicings that seduce and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-myers/what-separates-great-jazz-musicians-from-average-ones-is-taste-those/) Marc Myers > [Jazz music and, more specifically, jazz musicians, are my artistic heroes. I want to be the Thelonious Monk of acting. He had no concern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-st-john/jazz-music-and-more-specifically-jazz-musicians-are-my-artistic/) [Trevor St. John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-st-john/) > [ We're \[with Robbie Robertson \] jazz musicians. The context may be rock 'n' roll but it's still jazz. It's jazz and that means improvization...you… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-morrison/we-re-with-robbie-robertson-jazz-musicians-the-context-may-be-rock-n/) [Van Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-morrison/) > [I really love Dinah Washington and anything live from her - she had some of the greatest jazz musicians in the whole world, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-hart/i-really-love-dinah-washington-and-anything-live-from-her-she-had/) [Beth Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-hart/) > [I loved Art Tatum! 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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/) > [I think I represent a more left-wing view of what jazz is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-think-i-represent-a-more-left-wing-view-of-what-jazz-is/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [I realized that equipment really had little to do with why I sound like the way I sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-realized-that-equipment-really-had-little-to-do-with-why-i-sound/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [Learning to play is mostly about learning to hear, and learning to really listen deeply to sound in a musical way is a lifetime's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/learning-to-play-is-mostly-about-learning-to-hear-and-learning-to/) [Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/) > [If we are going to list guitar influences, the biggest one by far is Wes Montgomery. 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