If you want to do something, you do it anyway, and handle the obstacles as they come.
BENNY GOODMANIf you want to do something, you do it anyway, and handle the obstacles as they come.
BENNY GOODMANWhen I first arrived (in New York), it seemed to me the most terrifying city in the world… all those big buildings.
BENNY GOODMANI think my first impression (of Bix Beiderbecke) was the lasting one. I remember very clearly thinking, ‘Where, what planet, did this guy come from? Is he from outer space?’
BENNY GOODMANThere was a lot of playing going on, and the New Yorkers, of course, were a completely different crowd from what I’d known.
BENNY GOODMANThere was a refinement about his playing. You know, in those days I played a little trumpet, and I could play all the solos from his records, by heart.
BENNY GOODMANSome of the guys I played with .. didn’t go around learning more about their instruments from an intellectual point of view. All they wanted was to play hot jazz, and the instrument was just a means.
BENNY GOODMANIf a guy’s got it, let him give it. I’m selling music, not prejudice.
BENNY GOODMANI’d imagine that a lot of them criticized me-said my technique was too good. Something like that. But I’ve always wanted to know what made music. How you do it, and why it sounds good. I always practiced, worked like hell.
BENNY GOODMANToo many young musicians today want to win polls before they learn their instruments.
BENNY GOODMANAfter you’ve done all the work and prepared as much as you can, what the hell, you might as well go out and have a good time.
BENNY GOODMANIt takes the black keys and the white keys both, to make perfect harmony.
BENNY GOODMANTo this day, I don’t like people walking on stage not looking good. You have to look good. If you feel special about yourself then you’re going to play special.
BENNY GOODMANYou have to have the courage and confidence in your own ability. You have to know what the hell and who the hell you are in this business. Music may change, but I don’t think that ever will.
BENNY GOODMANI don’t have any great love for Chicago. What the hell, a childhood around Douglas Park isn’t very memorable. I remember the street fights and how you were afraid to cross the bridge ’cause the Irish kid on the other side would beat your head in. I left Chicago a long time ago.
BENNY GOODMANIf I have something I want to do, I make a business of doing it.
BENNY GOODMANCreativity grows out of two things: curiosity & imagination.
BENNY GOODMAN