Gerry Mulligan

In fact, I heard Bird first, and had got well into listening to him. You know, it’s the kind of accidental thing that awareness of a player is: what’s available, what somebody happens to play for you.

I like what I hear other guys doing, but the thing that really attracts me is melodic playing.

Eliminating the piano means that I’ve always worked closer with the bass than most players.

When I began listening to saxophones, I was first attracted to Coleman Hawkins.

Only the French, I guess, really use tenor and alto to any great extent in the orchestra.

You can make a saxophone into an electric organ; you can do everything with it.

I like to know for whom I’m writing – it makes the composition easier to do.

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.

You not only have to know your own instrument, you must know the others and how to back them up at all times. That’s jazz.

Everybody came. Everybody came to the Cotton Club.

Jazz music is the real deal.

Practice as if you are the worst, play as if you are the best!

However it goes, I’ll just keep playing. That’s where the basic satisfaction is at.

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

Quiet is the absence of sound. Silence is the presence of silence.

I think music needs to be of its time and speak to that time.

I think the most important thing about playing is to walk out with confidence, look the people right in the eye and say ‘Here I am,’ and go and do your thing. As soon as they know you’re confident, they’re confident. As long as you adjust to them you’re not in trouble. You should eyeball them, find out what they want, and give it to them. They didn’t pay to come out and look at the tapestries.

And ultimately the people who produce my records, they know that they’re here to serve the purpose of me expressing who I am at this period of time and augmenting that or pulling it forward and I love that process.

Learning to read music in Braille and play by ear helped me develop a damn good memory.

When you are studying Jazz best thing to do is listen to records and live music as much you can and absorb everything.

Well, if you find a note tonight that sounds good, play the same damn note every night!