The whole point is, give me a break with the standards. You go to the average jazz label and suggest a record and they want to know which standards you’re going to play. I’m saying let’s break the formula.
BRANFORD MARSALISOne of the things that I loved about listening to Miles Davis is that Miles always had an instinct for which musicians were great for what situations. He could always pick a band, and that was the thing that separated him from everybody else.
More Branford Marsalis Quotes
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I think that if you keep banging at the door all you need is a little foothold, a little tiny foothold, and then the rest will take care of itself.
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When people go to concerts, they say I’m going to see… not, I’m going to hear.
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If I were like a lot of other people, then it wouldn’t be fun; but since I’m like me, it’s okay.
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You don’t know what you like, you like what you know. In order to know what you like, you have to know everything.
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It’s hard to get into Newsweek because, as more of our former intellectual magazines take on a pop focus, if there’s no buzz, there’s no interest.
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his special ability enables Walter to communicate with aspiring musicians in a way that removes the sense of mystery that sometimes enshrouds our profession.
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I’m not going to play funk licks on a jazz album. That makes no sense.
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The piano is the X factor. People have a tough time following the structures when there’s no piano there, spelling it out. It makes it more easily understood, particularly to people who don’t know as much about music.
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If it’s not going to sound like Terrapin Station, what’s the point of playing Terrapin Station?
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Everybody talks about finding your voice. Do your homework and your voice will find you.
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My job is to write songs that have emotional meaning to me.
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I don’t care who likes it or buys it. Because if you use that criterion, Mozart would have never written Don Giovanni, Charlie Parker never would have played anything but swing music. There comes a point at which you have to stand up and say, this is what I have to do.
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The way to learn the language is to rip off other players. As Benny Golson told me, “We all start off sounding like other cats.
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When you’re dealing with music without words, titles are more a means of identification than anything else. What’s the point of getting lofty?
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Humans are imperfect. That’s one of the reasons that classical and jazz are in trouble. We’re on the quest for the perfect performance and every note has to be right. Man, every note is not right in life.
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