Artie Shaw

Shoot for the moon. If you miss you’ll still end up in the stars.

An artist should write for himself and not for an audience. If the audience likes it, great. If not, they can keep away.

‘Swing’ is an adjective or a verb, not a noun. All jazz musicians should swing. There is no such thing as a ‘swing band’ in music.

I did all you can do with a clarinet. Any more would have been less.

I can’t understand guys who just have to have your autograph. What do you do when you get home, take it out and look at it?

Somebody asked me once, ‘Do you think that swing will ever come back?’ And I said, ‘Do you think the 1938 Form will ever come back?’

[In 1969] I think lyrics have always been important to any serious writer of music.

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

From hard rhythms of Be-bop, the mellow harmonies of Cool, to atonal forays of Free and the Straight Ahead delivery of Modern, it’s all Jazz.

Ahhh – those Jazz guys are just makin’ that stuff up!

Sometimes it’s to your advantage for people to think you’re crazy.

Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.

You only go around once and this ain’t no rehearsal.

A beat is a moment in the life a groove.

Tomorrow you’ll wish you had practiced harder today.

The secret is keeping busy, and loving what you do.

The blues fitted in with the early 60s, the social way of life at the time.

The true musician is to bring light into people’s hearts.

My audience was my life. What I did and how I did it was all for my audience.

I could write six songs in one day with everything that’s going on.

Music’s a good thing, it calm the beast in the man.