Kenny Garrett

Perhaps it is a peculiarity of mine that despite the fact that I am a professional performer, it is true that I have always preferred playing without an audience.

I wanted something very dense, something that would sustain long and more pieces of wood that would be soft, sweet, for more of a mellow sound.

Creativity and artistic endeavors have a mission that goes far beyond just making music for the sake of music.

By giving the public a rich and full melody, distinctly arranged and well played, all the time creating new tone colors and patterns, I feel we have a better chance of being successful. I want a kick to my band, but I don’t want the rhythm to hog the spotlight.

Musicians have the intimacy of bringing two people together and the aesthetic, romantic transference.

I don’t do something because I think it’ll sell 30 million albums. I couldn’t care less if it sells just one.

We go in there and we work on altering those ideas and in many cases go in different directions.

The joy of music should never be interrupted by a commercial.

When you listen to someone improvise, the notes that are played are only half the story.

To play without passion is inexcusable.

Don’t give up trying to do what you really want. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.

For me, the most important thing is the element of chance that is built into a live performance. The very great drawback of recorded sound is the fact that it is always the same. No matter how wonderful a recording is, I know that I couldn’t live with it–even of my own music–with the same nuances forever.

If someone thinks that peace and love are just a cliche that must have been left behind in the 60s, that’s a problem. Peace and love are eternal.

I could see the blues was about survival.

You only get better by playing.