Dave Douglas

Jazz is a spectacularly accurate model of democracy and a look into our redemptive future possibilities.

When I got pretty good I went on the road with a group. We starved.

My job is to write songs that have emotional meaning to me.

I hate straight singing. I have to change a tune to my own way of doing it. That’s all I know

I wanted to connect my guitar to human emotions.

As a little kid, blues meant hope, excitement, pure emotion. Blues were about feelings. They seem to bring out the feelings of the artist and they brought out my feelings as a kid. They made me wanna move, or sing, or pick up Reverend’s guitar and figure out how to make those wonderful sounds.

[Ben Taylor] He is an interesting combination of the two of us. His voice box is more like mine but the way his tongue sits in his mouth, and the way he pronounces words, is just like James Taylor.

I was a singing disc jockey who heard every type of music there was – and loved it all.

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

You blows who you is.

You don’t chose your inspirations, they chose you.

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.

I wanted to do the music, but not at the expense of being happy.

You don’t rehearse Jazz to death to get the camera angles.

The Jazz Age became less and less an affair of youth. The sequel was like a children’s party taken over by the elders.