Joe Zawinul

I am an improviser, I improvise music. Whatever you want to call it, it’s all improvised music. I may capture it and go back and write it down for others, but it was originally improvised.

Music is a calling that you must bring your best to, whether listening, practicing or performing.

All musicians stimulate each other. The vibrations get scattered around.

Jazz music has become academic. Sometimes that doesn’t feel right to me.

Live music is best! Make plans to get out and support your local Jazz scene.

People sometimes say it takes a long time to become a Jazz fan, but for me it took about five seconds.

Your humanity is your instrument.

Give it a good go, try to have fun at it, try to pass on some good notes and some good sounds to your fans, and I don’t think you will have wasted your time.

I’ve had a lot of things to be proud of in my life, but none more than the Jazz festival.

Dog spelled backward is God. That’s pretty heavy.

Miles told me not to use vibrato because when you get old, you’re going to shake anyway.

What we hear is the quality of our listening.

As long as you’ve got your horn in your mouth, you’re developing.

Jazz is a democratic musical form. We take our respective instruments and collectively create a thing of beauty.

Rather than say I play Jazz, I simply say I play music.

One of the things I like about Jazz, kid, is I don’t know what’s going to happen next. Do you?