I think I know what it is but don’t ask me to play it.
JOHN COLTRANEI think I was first awakened to musical exploration by Dizzy Gillespie and Bird. It was through their work that I began to learn about musical structures and the more theoretical aspects of music.
More John Coltrane Quotes
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God breathes through us so completely, So gently we hardly feel it, yet it is our everything.
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Any time you play your horn, it helps you. If you get down, you can help yourself even in a rock ‘n’ roll band.
JOHN COLTRANE -
I never even thought about whether or not they understand what I’m doing, the emotional reaction is all that matters as long as there’s some feeling of communication, it isn’t necessary that it be understood.
JOHN COLTRANE -
You can play a shoestring if you’re sincere.
JOHN COLTRANE -
When you begin to see the possibilities of music, you desire to do something really good for people.
JOHN COLTRANE -
Change is inevitable in music – things change.
JOHN COLTRANE -
The first time I heard Bird play, it hit me right between the eyes.
JOHN COLTRANE -
My music is the spiritual expression of what I am: my faith, my knowledge, my being.
JOHN COLTRANE -
All of the technique doesn’t matter only if the feeling is right.
JOHN COLTRANE -
I’ve always felt that even though a man was not a Christian, he still has to know the truth some way or another. Or if he was a Christian, he could know the truth. The truth itself doesn’t have any name on it to me. And each man has to find this for himself, I think.
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 -
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.
JOHN COLTRANE -
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.
JOHN COLTRANE -
I think the majority of musicians are interested in truth.
JOHN COLTRANE -
The reason I play so many sounds, maybe it sounds angry, is because I’m trying so many things at one time, you see? I haven’t sorted them out. I have a whole bag of things that I’m trying to work through and get the one essential.
JOHN COLTRANE






