his special ability enables Walter to communicate with aspiring musicians in a way that removes the sense of mystery that sometimes enshrouds our profession.
BRANFORD MARSALISWhat you have to do is play a couple of songs and then get off the stage because everything that trails it sounds stupid.
More Branford Marsalis Quotes
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My dad was a musician, it was just what he did, like another guy’s dad drives a meat truck. Our house was normal. We weren’t taken with the fact our dad was a musician.
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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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One of the things that’s clear to me from interviews that I’ve read is that the more popular successful jazz musicians had audiences above and beyond the music community.
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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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So much of Jazz doesn’t have an audience other than music students or musicians.
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I’m not going to play funk licks on a jazz album. That makes no sense.
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Everybody talks about finding your voice. Do your homework and your voice will find you.
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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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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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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.
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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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The biggest problem with American music right now, is that kids don’t listen. They come by it honestly, Americans don’t listen anyway.
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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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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 know, being America, being the land of “number ones”, everyone wants to be a leader before they follow.
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