Change is inevitable in music – things change.
JOHN COLTRANEMy goal is to live the truly religious life, and express it in my music. If you live it, when you play there’s no problem because the music is part of the whole thing. To be a musician is really something. It goes very, very deep. My music is the spiritual expression of what I am – my faith, my knowledge, my being.
More John Coltrane Quotes
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The first time I heard Bird play, it hit me right between the eyes.
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The real risk is not changing. I have to feel that I’m after something. If I make money, fine. But I’d rather be striving. It’s the striving, man, it’s that I want.
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I want to be a force for real good. In other words, I know there are bad forces. You know, I know that there are forces out here that bring suffering to others and misery to the world, but I want to be the opposite force. I want to be the force which is truly for good.
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I’m into scales right now.
JOHN COLTRANE -
Working with Monk is like falling down a dark elevator shaft.
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The main thing a musician would like to do is to give a picture to the listener of the many wonderful things he knows of and senses in the universe.
JOHN COLTRANE -
Don’t ever get so big or important that you can not hear and listen to every other person.
JOHN COLTRANE -
Invest yourself in everything you do. There’s fun in being serious.
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There are so many things to be considered in making music. The whole question of life itself… I know that I want to produce beautiful music, music that does things to people that they need.
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When you begin to see the possibilities of music, you desire to do something really good for people.
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Damn the rules, it’s the feeling that counts.
JOHN COLTRANE -
Sometimes I wish I could walk up to my music for the first time, as if I had never heard it before.
JOHN COLTRANE -
I believe that men are here to grow themselves into the best good that they can be – at least, this is what I want to do.
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There is never any end, There are always new sounds to imagine; new feelings to get at. And always, there is the need to keep purifying these feelings and sounds so that we can really see what we’ve discovered in its pure state.
JOHN COLTRANE -
Considering the great heritage in music that we have – the work of the giants of the past, the present, and the promise of those who are to come – I feel that we have every reason to face the future optimistically.
JOHN COLTRANE






