Pat Metheny

I don’t worry too much about the fundamentalist principles that are in almost any discussion about Jazz.

My first relationship to any kind of musical situation is as a listener.

Jazz music will continue to thrive, possibly in unexpected ways.

It is Jazz’s very nature to change, to develop and adapt to the circumstances of its environment.

Listening is the key to everything good in music.

The beauty of Jazz is that it’s malleable. People address it to suit their own personalities.

We’re not like pop musicians who have to perform the same top ten tunes every night of a tour.

I don’t like recording studios – except my own, which is just a little room above the garage.

She’s Dynamite’ was a 100 years ago, and I recorded that song because the company thought that it was a great song and it was hot. That was the beginning of rock n’ roll, and I guess they thought it would be a BB King version of rock n’ roll.

How are you going to know what’s new to play if you haven’t listened to everything that’s old?

I’ve always wanted a C trumpet on top, to have that same kind of facility without shouting.

I often wonder whether Negroes like myself who are pretty well known help out at all in breaking down barriers.

I don’t consider myself a musician who has achieved perfection and can’t develop any further.

You should never be comfortable, man. Being comfortable fouled up a lot of musicians.

Man, all music is folk music. You ain’t never heard no horse sing a song, have you?

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

When I decided that I wanted to be a Jazz musician, I knew that it was about improvising.

A chimpanzee could learn what I do physically, but it goes way beyond that. When you play, you play life.

By its very nature, no one person can ever be the center of Jazz.

What I look for in concert is a connection with the audience.

I keep these songs in my head until I get behind the microphone. I never spend more than 30 or 40 minutes singing the vocal or it will sound mechanical. There are always mistakes, but it’s about feeling more than being perfect.