D C DowDell

It is better to be felt than to be heard.

The true value of this music lies in an artist’s individual creativity and that unique process of expression which is Jazz.

Learn the tunes by playing the masters, learn expression by playing yourself.

Jazz improvisation is the art of collective negotiated expression.

Jazz improvisation is an elusive genius.

If you are not doing what you love, you are wasting your time!

The first time I heard Bird play, it hit me right between the eyes.

Music can’t save the world, but can make one a little calmer.

A great song can pull me out of a slump and lighten my heart.

Early on, I figured out that when the top of a guitar is vibrating and a string is vibrating, you’ve got a conflict. One of them has got to stop, and it can’t be the string, because that’s making the sound. So in 1934, I asked the Larson Brothers—Chicago instrument makers—to build me a guitar with a half-inch-thick maple top and no f-holes. They thought I was crazy.

Music is a reservoir… of sounds.

One of the great moments of my life was when I could write musician on my passport.

There’s always room for improvisation or changes of expression.

When we were at the Apollo, Holiday was a block away. I asked her for her autograph.

Of course there are a lot of ways you can treat the blues, but it will still be the blues.

I feel that Jazz improvisation is the ultimate. You have to create on the spot, the essence of this music.

I didn’t know the right names for anything at first, but I knew what knocked me out. Changes… man I dug.

I guess what everyone wants more than anything else is to be loved. And to know that you loved me for my singing is too much for me. Forgive me if I don’t have all the words. Maybe I can sing it and you’ll understand.

You usually can’t tell what’s inspiring until you look back on it.

Change is always happening. That’s one of the wonderful things about Jazz music.

Music used to be essential and meaningful, but now it’s disposable.