Jelly Roll Morton

It is evidently known, beyond contradiction, that New Orleans is the cradle of Jazz and I, myself, happened to be the creator in the year 1902.

[On Louis Armstrong] You can’t play nothing on modern trumpet that doesn’t come from him, not even modern shit. I can’t even remember a time when he sounded bad playing the trumpet. Never. Not even one time. He had great feeling up in his playing and he always played on the beat. I just loved the way he played and sang.

It’s a matter of who would be right for each song. Mickey Hart for ‘All We Need is An Island’ – he’s the only guy I know who has Tahitian drums and every kind of drum on the planet.

You can’t explain Jazz to anyone without losing the experience because it’s feeling, not words.

I don’t care much about music. What I like is sounds.

I’m… a rather simple person with a limited talent and perhaps a limited perspective.

The wise musicians are those who play what they can master.

Jazz is an art that makes a person completely naked.

You don’t want to play like B. B. King. You want to be you. So what you do is listen to players you like, and try to “borrow” a little bit from each guy. You don’t try to sound exactly like the other guy, you just add the bits to your vocabulary. It’s like learning to read or write.

There’s always room for improvisation or changes of expression.

You can’t sing about love unless you know about it.

I like chords that are very lush with all the lush parts taken out.

If a song’s about something I’ve experienced or that could’ve happened to me it’s good. But if it’s alien to me, I couldn’t lend anything to it. Because that’s what soul is all about.

Music gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and charm and gaiety to life.

Lionel Richie told me forget about the critics. But if you come back with hit after hit, you don’t have to worry about anything.

People complain about the music industry, but this is a great time to be a musician.