Dave Pike

Ideologies separate us. Art brings us together.

I don’t meditate before I play or compose, but I see playing and composing as meditative acts.

You have to sound sad first, then maybe later you can sound good.

The high note is not the only thing.

The Blues is never old.

I hope my recordings of my own works won’t inhibit other people’s performances. The brutal fact is that one doesn’t always get the exact tempo one wants, although one improves with experience.

It’s not what you do, but the way you’re doing it and in the end that’s all that we have.

Jazz is the sound of surprise.

There is no truer truth obtainable by man than comes of music.

I never wanted to be famous. I only wanted to be great.

[on Prince] I learned about music that didn’t have any barriers or any kind of, like, containment. I learned about wild, crazy topics and ways to express yourself that had never been written in quite that way before. I learned that a human being could be able to defy all stereotypes, and be the epitome of badassness.

In this era it’s harder for musicians to get together, … Back in the ’80s, we were all at the clubs, you ran into people all the time. Now, everybody’s kind of in their own room with their computers. I use making an album as an opportunity to connect with musicians.

The most important thing I look for in a musician is whether he knows how to listen.

It’s all music.

You have to understand the styles and it’s good to study those that came before us.