Artie Shaw

I was really running a music school back then, because my band wasn’t making any money. I keep talking about money, because most people don’t understand the part of money in running a band.

‘Swing’ is an adjective or a verb, not a noun. All jazz musicians should swing. There is no such thing as a ‘swing band’ in music.

No matter how carefully and assiduously and how deeply you bury shit, the American public will find it and buy it in large quantity, It’s true, absolutely true.

An entertainer pleases others while an artist only has to please himself.

Shoot for the moon. If you miss you’ll still end up in the stars.

Jazz was born out of the whiskey bottle, was raised on marijuana, and will expire on cocaine.

Music, of course, is what I hear and something that I more or less live by. It’s not an occupation or profession, it’s a compulsion.

The way I look at it, they’re all part of my musical diary, and I can listen to any one of them and it will bring up memories of what was going on at that time.

I’d take my guitar and play on the streets. A gospel song would get me a pat on the head. But a blues would get me a dime. So you see why I stuck with the blues.

It’s not what they think, it’s about what’s best for the music.

I’m not a star. I’m just backing up the cats.

I think pop music is one of the few things in the 20th century that have made giant strides in reverse.

Jazz stresses less on technical exhibitionism and much more on emotional content.

I don’t believe that a lot of the things I hear on the air today are going to be played for as long a time as Coleman Hawkins records or Brahms concertos.

Those who were seen dancing were thought insane by those who could not hear the music.

Jazz is the sound of surprise.

A Les Paul feels like a guitar and I play differently on that and I sound too much like someone else.

I’ve been married twice. Most women would rather not be married to a traveling blues singer.

The Blues? It’s the mother of American music. That’s what is is – the source.

I hear beauty and elegance combined with passion and fire.

I went through a struggle, and I really needed to get myself together and connect with my purpose, which is music.