Ahmad Jamal

The quickest way to become troubled is to be concerned with what people say about your work.

I would like to be a scholar in whatever I do, a scholar is never finished, he is always seeking and I am always seeking.

You’ve got a big, big problem if you get caught up in what people say. If you’re gonna live for what people say, you might as well lay down and forget it. Because it doesn’t work that way.

The quickest way to become troubled is to be concerned with what people are gonna say about your life and your work.

Jazz Improvisation means that practice is not as straightforward as it would be when you simply have a score to play.

You don’t create things, you discover things.

There are no mistakes, only opportunities.

There is nothing inherently wrong with media that has a viewpoint. This show has a viewpoint; we fact-check everything we say, but I don’t pretend to be neutral on things like criminal justice reform; I’m for it. Uh… Coldplay; I’m against it. Uh… or DeWalt ladders; they’re a seamless blend of style and performance. Walking up one is like ascending to Heaven on a golden cloud. I’m not being paid to say that. I’m just a fan.

Being a mom has made me so tired. And so happy.

Donald Trump has been saying that he will run for president as a Republican, which is surprising since I just assumed he was running as a joke.

I’m starting to know how the world works a bit, and I’m learning more and more that the only thing that matters is what happens between ‘action’ and ‘cut’. I’m allowing myself to be a bit more selfish, for want of a better word, just that it’s OK to focus and that I don’t have to be nice to everybody.

This heart of mine could never see what everybody knew but me

I needed to explore my talent and versatility and see if I had another side to me, another sound.

One failed attempt at a shoe bomb and we all take off our shoes at the airport. Thirty-one school shootings since Columbine and no change in our regulation of guns.

Led Zeppelin was a very sensitive and beautiful animal beast.

A lot of people can’t stand touring but to me it’s like breathing. I do it because I’m driven to do it.

Roc Nation is such an incredible, unique team, especially in the music industry. Everyone genuinely loves and cares about each other.

[on her parents] They’re very harsh critics and they’ve often said to me: “That was shit, you were crap’, but this is the first time (after he saw her as “Amy Foster” on Swept from the Sea) my father said to me: ‘I think one day you’ll be a good actress”!

I feel like true icons shift music, uplift music, switch music, have the balls to take a chance.

This is what I tell young women who ask me for career advice. People are going to try to trick you. To make you feel that you are in competition with one another. “You’re up for a promotion. If they go for a woman, it’ll be between you and Barbara.” Don’t be fooled. You’re not in competition with other women. You’re in competition with everyone.

British politics, when done well, can be very fun. John Oliver