Charles Mingus

Just because I’m playing Jazz I don’t forget about me. I play or write me the way I feel through Jazz.

I, myself, came to enjoy the players who didn’t only just swing but who invented new rhythmic patterns, along with new melodic concepts. And those people are: Art Tatum, Bud Powell, Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Lester Young, Dizzy Gillespie and Charles Parker, who is the greatest genius of all to me because he changed the whole era around.

In my music, I’m trying to play the truth of what I am. The reason it’s difficult is because I’m changing all the time.

I always wanted to be a spontaneous composer.

Most of the soloists at Birdland had to wait for Parker’s next record in order to find out what to play next. What will they do now?

Anyone can make the simple complicated. Creativity is making the complicated simple.

I still love the whole history of Jazz. The old things sound better than ever.

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.

When you know the lyrics to a tune, you have some kind of insight as to it’s composition. If you don’t understand what it’s about, you’re depriving yourself of being really able to communicate this poem.

When I got pretty good I went on the road with a group. We starved.

Talent is only the starting point.

I didn’t need to worry about keys, chords, melody if I had that emotion that brought tears and laughter to people’s hearts.

I listen to all kinds of songs. There’s something to be learned from every type of music and from the one making it, whether it’s pop or jazz or hip-hop.

Jazz is the continual pulsation of the now.

Don’t be a perfectionist… leave that to the classical musicians.

Music is my mistress and she plays second fiddle to no one.

What makes my approach special is that I do different things. I do jazz, blues, country music and so forth. I do them all, like a good utility man.

You usually can’t tell what’s inspiring until you look back on it.

We all do ‘do, re, mi’ but you got to find the other notes yourself.

The thing I always default to is that I’ll always be here to write songs.

In olden days a glimpse of stocking was looked on as something shocking, now heaven knows, anything goes.