Bill Evans

I like people who have worked long and hard, developing through introspection and dedication.

My creed for art in general is that it should enrich the soul; it should teach spirituality by showing a person a portion of himself that he would not discover otherwise . . . a part of yourself you never knew existed.

I went through a lot of mental pains and anguish about choosing between jazz and classical. I realized that where I functioned was where I should be, and where I functioned was in jazz, so that was it.

I’m using the insides of sounds to move around in a very subtle way which, I think, ends up being inevitable.

I always like people who have developed long and hard, particularly through introspection and a lot of dedication. I think that what they arrive at is, usually, deeper and more beautiful than the person who seems to have that ability and fluidity from the beginning.

Talent is cheap, and many talents treat themselves cheaply.

May you live to be 100 and may the last voice you hear be mine.

The idea is more important than the style you’re playing in.

Man, as long as people want to hear Jazz, I’ll give it to them.

Musicians should never forget we’re blessed. We have a special gift that people enjoy through us.

If a song’s about something I’ve experienced or that could’ve happened to me it’s good. But if it’s alien to me, I couldn’t lend anything to it. Because that’s what soul is all about.

Just give a drum roll, announce my name and I come out and sing. I have a contract that says I’m a singer. So I sing.

It’s always been a gift with me, hearing music the way I do. I don’t know where it comes from, it’s just there and I don’t question it.

Jazz musicians have some outlaw in them somewhere.

Jazz music grabs you to the point where it never lets you go until the very last breath.

To rise above the crowd, discipline yourself unceasingly to the strict demand and realities of your ambition.

I have younger friends who don’t work and they aren’t doing so well. My secret is to keep going, keep working.

Music gives us a lot of things and it only wants one thing back… your attention.

Anything I do has to be directly related to my music. If it isn’t, I don’t really see a point to it.

Play the music not the instrument.

I did go through a trial-and-error period where I tried out lots of different guitars, but within a couple of years I was right back to the Les Paul. From that point it’s stayed with me ever since. I have other guitars—and I love a lot of them—but I’m most at home on a Les Paul. It’s interesting: most of the time I would even rather make a Les Paul do the things those other guitars do. From the get-go, the Les Paul spoke to me.