I 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 GOODMANCreativity grows out of two things: curiosity & imagination.
More Benny Goodman Quotes
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If you want to do something, you do it anyway, and handle the obstacles as they come.
BENNY GOODMAN -
Creativity grows out of two things: curiosity & imagination.
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There was a lot of playing going on, and the New Yorkers, of course, were a completely different crowd from what I’d known.
BENNY GOODMAN -
Too many young musicians today want to win polls before they learn their instruments.
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One way or the other, if you want to find reasons why you shouldn’t keep on, you’ll find ‘em. The obstacles are all there; there are a million of ‘em.
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I remember Glenn Miller coming to me once, before he had his own band, saying, How do you do it? How do you get started? It’s so difficult. I told him, I don’t know but whatever you do don’t stop. Just keep on going.
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Sometimes when you start losing detail, whether it’s in music or in life, something as small as failing to be polite, you start to lose substance.
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If I have something I want to do, I make a business of doing it.
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When I first arrived (in New York), it seemed to me the most terrifying city in the world… all those big buildings.
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If a guy’s got it, let him give it. I’m selling music, not prejudice.
BENNY GOODMAN -
It takes the black keys and the white keys both, to make perfect harmony.
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Some 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.
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To 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.
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I 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.
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There 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 GOODMAN