Benny Golson

There is something about music that keeps its distance even at the moment that it engulfs us. It is at the same time outside and away from us and inside and part of us. In one sense it dwarfs us, and in another we master it. We are led on and on, and yet in some strange way we never lose control.

Sound is the first thing that we tune into.

Jazz is such a powerful cultural statement that it’s almost as if it’s intertwined with society.

Never play anything the same way twice.

To keep a band together you simply need a gimmick. The gimmick I use is to pay them money.

Look for the one who’s not smiling and play to that person. Once you’ve got that person, you’ve got the whole club.

But I have always suspected that one could substitute the Minuet of Haydn’s 98th symphony for the Minuet in Haydn’s 99th symphony without sensing a serious lack of coherence in either work.

I still love the whole history of Jazz. The old things sound better than ever.

People all over the world have problems. And as long as people have problems, the blues can never die.

To get the music the way you want it, there’s a lot of work involved.

If you want to make beautiful music, you must play the black and the white notes together.

I’m… a rather simple person with a limited talent and perhaps a limited perspective.

I don’t like to hear someone put down Dixieland. Those people who say there’s no music but bop are just stupid; it shows how much they don’t know.

I may be helping to bring harmony between people through my music.

[On Louis Armstrong] You can’t play nothing on modern trumpet that doesn’t come from him, not even modern shit. I can’t even remember a time when he sounded bad playing the trumpet. Never. Not even one time. He had great feeling up in his playing and he always played on the beat. I just loved the way he played and sang.