Terence Blanchard

Forget about upholding the tradition and just play who you really are.

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

I’ve found you’ve got to look back at the old things and see them in a new light.

I can count on one hand the number of instrumental hits there have been over the last 10 years.

I always make it a point to pick songs on which players really shine.

My role in society, or any artist or poet’s role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel. Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all.

As long as you’ve got your horn in your mouth, you’re developing.

I hear beauty and elegance combined with passion and fire.

If it sounds good and feels good, then it IS good!

Les is an old friend of mine. He gave me this special white Les Paul – he wound the pickups himself – for my birthday, first time I met him. I play everything from heavy metal to blues to jazz on it. He just hit it right on the head when he designed the Les Paul. I like it better than most girlfriends I’ve had. The godfather of rock ‘n’ roll, I call him. Without him, none of us would have a job.

There is two kinds of music, the good, and the bad. I play the good kind.

I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me-like food or water.

Play the music not the instrument.

This guitar is such a pal. It’s a psychiatrist. It’s a doggone bartender. It’s a housewife. This guy is everything. Whenever I find that I’ve got a problem, I’ll go pick my guitar up and play. It’s the greatest pal in the whole world.

You’ve got to learn your instrument.

I am only a mixture of countless influences and thanks to that I am able to find my own style of playing.