Ornette Coleman

Dog spelled backward is God. That’s pretty heavy.

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

We in the Western world suffer from too many categories and classes; we’ve forgotten that we all still have diapers on. We’ve separated music from life.

The violin, the saxophone, the trumpet: Each makes a very different sound but the very same notes. That’s pretty heavy, you know ? Imagine how many different races make up the human race. I’m called colored, you’re called white, he’s called something else. We still got an asshole and a mouth. Pardon me.

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

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

It’s not technique — it’s what you have to say.

Know the business; you need to know the business side of things.

Jazz is there and gone. It happens. You have to be present for it. That simple.

Lionel Richie told me forget about the critics. But if you come back with hit after hit, you don’t have to worry about anything.

Is there a meaning to music? Yes. Can you state in so many words what the meaning is? No.

It isn’t where you came from, it’s where you’re going that counts.

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.

A name doesn’t make the music. It’s just called that to differentiate it from other types of music.

Nobody has ever been able to define Jazz satisfactorily. This is probably because anyone who was capable of doing so never really wanted to, knowing how much you would have to leave out of the definition.

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

I’m famous… ain’t that a bitch?

Composing is a mindset, a part of who I am.

My neighbors always listen to very hip Jazz… whether they like it or not.

I would’ve loved to have been in a band, but sadly I just wasn’t good enough.

Sounds of daily life are musical. I try to absorb the intricacies of sounds as if I were listening to music.