Brian McKnight

The only award I’ve ever worked for or wanted really were the ones that were given to me by the fans. So, whether it’s a platinum record or hit songs, those are the ones that last the most.

Know the business; you need to know the business side of things.

I’m the fifth generation of Seventh Day Adventists and the youngest of four brothers. When I was still very small, we formed a gospel quartet.

There’s only one thing that everyone in this world has in common: whether you want to love somebody and you want to be loved in return.

A fine timepiece is part of dressing like a gentleman. When I first made a little money, I bought my first watch which was a Rolex Daytona. It was just one of those things that said I was successful.

I used to play pianos in bars. You know in hotels, you’d see guys playing piano with a snifter? That was me, with a painted-on mustache. I was about 15.

Miles’ sessions were not typical of anybody else’s sessions. They were totally unique.

What’s tied Jazz together is its foundation in the Blues, a reliance on group interplay and the unique phenomenon of spontaneous improvisation.

Every time I see a musician – it doesn’t matter what age – that inspires me, there’s always a secret little wish that maybe we’ll play together, because that’s how I learn and grow and so forth, you know. But hopefully there’s a lot more.

My job is to write songs that have emotional meaning to me.

The Jazz Age became less and less an affair of youth. The sequel was like a children’s party taken over by the elders.

I think you have to leave a lot to the imagination!

Some players get very philosophical and cerebral about Jazz. You don’t need any prologues, you just play.

Last time I saw Count Basie, he was in a wheelchair. They wheeled him up onto the stage, he sits down at the piano, and he gives the downbeat, and that band played like they were in heaven. And right in the middle, the band cuts. He had to take one hand and put the other on it, and he comes down with one note. And it was the greatest note I ever heard in my life.

When Bird came on the scene, it was shocking as in the Bible: everything was dark and then there was light.

If you feel like tapping your feet, tap your feet. If you feel like clapping your hands, clap your hands. And if you feel like taking off your shoes, take off your shoes. We are here to have a ball. So we want you to leave your worldly troubles outside and come in here and swing.

People who are meant to be drawn to your music will find you.

A Jazz musician is supposed to find his voice, find his niche and do his thing.

[moving to Las Vegas] It was sort of like a man getting married – you don’t have to go out looking for girls, you’ve got your girl with you. I could go to casinos any time I had money and wanted to, so I actually went less.

Learn the tunes by playing the masters, learn expression by playing yourself.

If you’ve only got one horn playing, I still want the sense of ensemble.