Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
The value of music is to be able to play one note at the right time in the right way.
Miles' sessions were not typical of anybody else's sessions. They were totally unique.
It pulled me like a magnet, jazz did, because it was a way that I could express myself.
So in other words, we were constantly challenged to grow, and thats what a master does.
One thing that attracted me to Buddhism was the support for this larger vision of values.
When I was in my early teens, I remember coming to the conclusion that your life never ends.
Since time is a continuum, the moment is always different, so the music is always different.
I try stuff. I synthesize what's of value with some of the other things I have at my disposal.
In the past, there's always been one leader that has led the pack to development of the music.
Jazz has borrowed from other genres of music and also has lent itself to other genres of music.
People are afraid to spend money now because they dont know how long theyre going to be working.
Inspiration is constantly in the air. It's up to us to develop the sensitivity to pick up on it.
Like no matter what happens, this would be the ultimate, they can make something positive happen.
It's part of life to have obstacles. It's about overcoming obstacles; that's the key to happiness.
I'm aware that a lot of what is happening in jazz has not had a very dynamic change in a long time.
When I was coming up, I practiced all the time because I thought if I didn't I couldn't do my best.
See, there were certain rules I'd always used, and people like Trane, they would break those rules.
While knowledge may provide useful point of reference, it cannot become a force to guide the future.
Music is not the only reason that I practice Buddhism anymore because it has affected my whole life.
I hope that I can make good music out of whatever genre I go into. Just to prove to myself that I can.
I'm always interested in looking forward toward the future. Carving out new ways of looking at things.
I feel a lot more secure about the directions I take, than I might have, had I not practiced Buddhism.
Forget about trying to compete with someone else. Create your own pathway. Create your own new vision.
I like the idea of an eclectic approach, incorporating jazz with other forms and other genres of music.
When you struggle to reach for something you don't know, that's where most of the interesting stuff is.
You can practice to learn a technique, but I'm more interested in conceiving of something in the moment.
Jazz translates the moment into a sense of inspiration for not only the musicians but for the listeners.
Technology has developed to a whole other level and theres the scientist part of me that loves that stuff.
Buddhism has turned me on to my humanness, and is challenging my humanness so that I can become more human.
One thing I like about jazz is that it emphasized doing things differently from what other people were doing.
It's not the style that motivates me, as much as an attitude of openness that I have when I go into a project.
But I have to be careful not to let the world dazzle me so much that I forget that I'm a husband and a father.
Creativity and artistic endeavors have a mission that goes far beyond just making music for the sake of music.
When you talk about 'doing the work', that's the work I'm interested in. What can I contribute as a human being?
Don't be afraid to expand yourself, to step out of your comfort zone. That's where the joy and the adventure lie.
I don't look at music from the standpoint of being a musician; I look at it from the standpoint of being a human being.
World peace is no longer some pie-in-the-sky thing, because no single person or country is going to solve it on their own.
I started off with classical music, and I got into jazz when I was about 14 years old. And I've been playing jazz ever since.
It's part of my nature. I get excited when trying out new stuff, whether it be an idea or equipment. It stimulates my juices.
At a certain point, I became a kind of musician that has tunnel vision about jazz. I only listened to jazz and classical music.
Jazz to me is the spirit of freedom. I mean real freedom. Freedom to explore. Freedom to express. Freedom to pour out your guts.
Each human being exists because there's something they have to offer for the evolution of the universe that only they can fulfill.
You can expand, repeat, even change keys and do other things electronically to give certain elements and phrases more cohesiveness.
Jazz is a music that is open enough to borrow from any other form of music, and has the strength to influence any other form of music.
I learned the importance of being nonjudgmental, taking what happens and trying to make it work.That's something you should apply to life.
I hope to use dialogue and culture as a means of bringing people of various cultures together, and using that as a way to resolve conflict.
To my wife, I'm not Herbie Hancock the musician. I'm her husband. When I'm talking to a neighbor, I'm a neighbor. When I vote, I'm a citizen.
One of the most important functions of jazz has been to encourage a hope for freedom, for people living in situations of intolerance or struggle.
I don't go around, the way many musicians do, with earbuds in my ear listening to my iPod all day and just sticking my head in the music all the time.
It's not easy to play in a framework that requires simplicity and to tastefully find ways to interject the kind of freedom that we have in playing jazz.