Inspirational Quotations on Jazz

Jazz today, as always in the past, is a matter of thoughtful creation, not mere unaided instinct.
—Duke Ellington (1899–1974) American Jazz Pianist, Composer, Bandleader

Modern jazz: Variations on a non-existent theme
—Indian Proverb

Something was still there, that something that distinguishes an artist from a performer: the revealing of self. Here I be. Not for long, but here I be. In sensing her mortality, we sensed our own.
—Studs Terkel (1912–2008) American Author, Oral Historian

Regarding jam sessions: Jazz musicians are the only workers I can think of who are willing to put in a full shift for pay and then go somewhere else and continue to work for free.
—George Carlin (1937–2008) American Stand-up Comedian

Jazz is… One of life’s greatest gifts: fun found within surprise.
—Indian Proverb

It seems to me monstrous that anyone should believe that the jazz rhythm expresses America. Jazz rhythm expresses the primitive savage.
—Isadora Duncan (1877–1927) American Dancer, Choreographer

Jazz is… An open-ended music designed for open minds.
—Indian Proverb

By and large, jazz has always been like the kind of a man you wouldn’t want your daughter to associate with.
—Duke Ellington (1899–1974) American Jazz Pianist, Composer, Bandleader

Jazz is what I play for a living.
—Louis Armstrong (1900–71) American Jazz Trumpeter, Singer

Jazz is the music of the body
—Anais Nin (1903–77) French-American Essayist

Jazz is the big brother of the blues. If a guy’s playing blues like we play, he’s in high school. When he starts playing jazz it’s like going on to college, to a school of higher learning.
—B. B. King (1925–2015) American Blues Singer, Guitarist

Jazz is rhythm and meaning.
—Henri Matisse (1869–1954) French Painter, Sculptor, Lithographer

There are wonderful things in real jazz, the talent for improvisation, the liveliness, the being at one with the audience.
—Henri Matisse (1869–1954) French Painter, Sculptor, Lithographer

Jazz may be a thrilling communion with the primitive soul; or it may be an ear-splitting bore
—Indian Proverb