Lucky Thompson

I feel I have only scratched the surface of what I know I am capable of doing.

I am very aware that so little has happened to the electric guitar from the time that it was conceived to now; where there are so little changes made where there should be drastic changes made. If we were to put our heads together and start thinking about modern technology we would be much more advantaged with the electric guitar than we are. I think that we’ve been stagnant for many years.

I always wanted to be a spontaneous composer.

Anybody can write music of a sort. But touching the public heart is quite another thing.

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of someone else.

The wonderful thing about Jazz is its willingness to take chances.

Excessive reverence for the romantic illusion of original thought is the most fraudulent and destructive element in Jazz education.

The secret is keeping busy, and loving what you do.

As long as you’ve got your horn in your mouth, you’re developing.

You want the listener to find the song on their own, give too much away and it takes away from the imagination.

We’re here to have a ball.

As far back as I can remember, singing was in my blood. My parents loved music, and I loved to sing. I was scatting at an early age.

Jazz is not dead, it just smells funny.

Jazz is the only music in which the same note can be played night after night, but differently each time.

To compose music, all you need to do is remember a tune that no one else has thought of.

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