--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always felt of myself as a composer…" description: "\"I always felt of myself as a composer, performer, improviser. I've never called myself a jazz man. I make art.\" — Wadada Leo Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/wadada-leo-smith-24902_art_i-always-felt-of-myself-as-a-composer-pe_1538052.jpg" --- # I always felt of myself as a composer, performer… ![“I always felt of myself as a composer, performer, improviser. I've never called myself a jazz man. I make art.” quote by Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/wadada-leo-smith-24902_art_i-always-felt-of-myself-as-a-composer-pe_1538052.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/wadada-leo-smith-24902_art_i-always-felt-of-myself-as-a-composer-pe_1538052.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/695/wadada-leo-smith-24902_art_i-always-felt-of-myself-as-a-composer-pe_1538052.jpg) > “I always felt of myself as a composer, performer, improviser. I've never called myself a jazz man. I make art.” [Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He identifies as a creator rather than a genre label, emphasizing artistic identity over categories. **In simple terms:** He sees himself as a creator, not a jazz man. Key Takeaway Embrace your artistic identity beyond labels. Themes creativity identity artistic freedom Mood reflective proud Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - musician - visual artist - composer - improviser - educator Key Concepts self‑definition genre fluidity Questions to Reflect On - How does labeling affect your creative work? - What freedoms arise when you reject genre constraints? A Different Perspective Genre labels can limit perception and opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man/) ## Related quotes > [I started composing when I was around 13, and back then, people used to say that I needed to be a composer or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/i-started-composing-when-i-was-around-13-and-back-then-people-used-to/) [Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) > [A Jazz man should be saying what he feels: humor, sadness, joy... all the things that humans have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-brookmeyer/a-jazz-man-should-be-saying-what-he-feels-humor-sadness-joy-all-the/) [Bob Brookmeyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-brookmeyer/) > [Even though I left for a year, I grew here as a Jazz man. If I'm fortunate enough to go into the Hall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-malone/even-though-i-left-for-a-year-i-grew-here-as-a-jazz-man-if-i-m/) [Karl Malone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-malone/) > [I was a Spanish dancer. I don't mean to put that down, because that was great, too, but nothing like the kind of dancing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-moreno/i-was-a-spanish-dancer-i-don-t-mean-to-put-that-down-because-that-was/) [Rita Moreno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-moreno/) > [Composition is interesting because, in a sense, you always have to let it go. Unless you're a true composer/performer, you're always sending a PDF…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nico-muhly/composition-is-interesting-because-in-a-sense-you-always-have-to-let/) [Nico Muhly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nico-muhly/) > [There's still a lot I need to do as a player, as a musician, as a sound creator. I have commissioned 170 pieces: that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-glennie/there-s-still-a-lot-i-need-to-do-as-a-player-as-a-musician-as-a-sound/) [Evelyn Glennie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-glennie/) > [There are a few things that I will hopefully be credited for as a pioneer. One is my four-mallet playing. Another one is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-burton/there-are-a-few-things-that-i-will-hopefully-be-credited-for-as-a/) [Gary Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-burton/) > [Benny Goodman's band was integrated before baseball. Even before it was physically integrated, music was integrated. Everyone listened to Armstrong and Ellington. The 20s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/benny-goodman-s-band-was-integrated-before-baseball-even-before-it/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [and will I like being called a jazz baby? --You will love it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/and-will-i-like-being-called-a-jazz-baby-you-will-love-it/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I never called myself a jazz singer. I just call myself a vocalist because I love to sing all kinds of things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianne-reeves/i-never-called-myself-a-jazz-singer-i-just-call-myself-a-vocalist/) [Dianne Reeves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianne-reeves/) > [I fear that I won't get better and that I won't have time to practice. To be called a "jazz musician" - it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esperanza-spalding/i-fear-that-i-won-t-get-better-and-that-i-won-t-have-time-to-practice/) [Esperanza Spalding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esperanza-spalding/) > [Funk could very easily be called jazz, but you call it funk. Does that really matter? People dig that they associate themselves with certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamasi-washington/funk-could-very-easily-be-called-jazz-but-you-call-it-funk-does-that/) [Kamasi Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamasi-washington/) > [I was co-editor of the magazine called The Jazz Review, which was a pioneering magazine because it was the only magazine, then or now,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nat-hentoff/i-was-co-editor-of-the-magazine-called-the-jazz-review-which-was-a/) [Nat Hentoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nat-hentoff/) > [I never thought that the music called "jazz" was ever meant to reach just a small group of people, or become a museum thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-never-thought-that-the-music-called-jazz-was-ever-meant-to-reach/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [ I think that band \[Glenn Miller\] was the beginning of the end. It was a mechanized version of what they called jazz music. I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/artie-shaw/i-think-that-band-glenn-miller-was-the-beginning-of-the-end-it-was-a/) [Artie Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/artie-shaw/) ## More by Wadada Leo Smith > [I have been in dialogue with my family about what can actually be done. We've come up with this philosophy that in a truly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/i-have-been-in-dialogue-with-my-family-about-what-can-actually-be/) [Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) > [Jazz infers a style, but creative music has a wider field and wider specification about it. We know it from people like Scott Joplin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/jazz-infers-a-style-but-creative-music-has-a-wider-field-and-wider/) [Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) > [I write all the time. I always have. I can pick up my horn to warm up, and an idea will pop into my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/i-write-all-the-time-i-always-have-i-can-pick-up-my-horn-to-warm-up/) [Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) > [I've got that Beethoven energy, that Stravinsky energy. And it's all a gift from the Creator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/i-ve-got-that-beethoven-energy-that-stravinsky-energy-and-it-s-all-a/) [Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) > [The only thing that makes change possible is the idea of developing some kind of institution, because the institutions will survive individuals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/the-only-thing-that-makes-change-possible-is-the-idea-of-developing/) [Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) > [Everything and anything is valuable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/everything-and-anything-is-valuable/) [Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) > [My solo playing utilizes the deployment of suggestive psychic rhythms. I'll state these throughout a given piece and play thematic improvisations on top of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/my-solo-playing-utilizes-the-deployment-of-suggestive-psychic-rhythms/) [Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) > [I'm an optimist. I have always been, and I will continue to be. So I believe there's always a possibility of transforming or changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/i-m-an-optimist-i-have-always-been-and-i-will-continue-to-be-so-i/) [Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) > [When you live in the South, you're constantly part of the civil rights movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/when-you-live-in-the-south-you-re-constantly-part-of-the-civil-rights/) [Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) > [There's nothing unnatural in creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/there-s-nothing-unnatural-in-creation/) [Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) > [From now back to the past, we can observe clearly that none of us is free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/from-now-back-to-the-past-we-can-observe-clearly-that-none-of-us-is/) [Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) > [The artist is the consciousness of society... but musicians' role is very special.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/the-artist-is-the-consciousness-of-society-but-musicians-role-is-very/) [Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) > [I think all art is, by nature, intended to motivate society for change, and the only reason change doesn't happen is because within the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/i-think-all-art-is-by-nature-intended-to-motivate-society-for-change/) [Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) > [Seeing the bigger picture opens your eyes to what is the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/seeing-the-bigger-picture-opens-your-eyes-to-what-is-the-truth/) [Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) > [We have these old fashioned ideas. For instance, here in America, we talk about democracy - but we don't have a democracy. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wadada-leo-smith/we-have-these-old-fashioned-ideas-for-instance-here-in-america-we/) [Wadada Leo Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) [Explore all 23 Wadada Leo Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wadada-leo-smith/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I always felt of myself as a composer, performer, improviser. 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