Benny Carter

The truth is I never gave it much thought. I just played what I had to play.

Ideologies separate us. Art brings us together.

Benny Goodman was one of the big influences as a clarinet player. That’s why I wanted the clarinet.

It’s not technique — it’s what you have to say.

Jazz is a beautiful word. I love it.

If you already have a piece of music ingrained in your body, why would you not play it?

You must surrender whatever preconceptions you have about music if you’re really interested in it.

Music is the most interesting thing in the world.

Jazz is not gonna be a dinosaur and stay around in one form.

Music is a gift and a burden I’ve had since I can remember who I was.

Words are the children of reason and therefore can’t translate the feeling of Jazz because they’re not part of it.

It’s not the notes you play, it’s the notes you don’t play.

What we hear is the quality of our listening.

I use the audience as my color palette, my instrument.

If I’m not a jazz player all the time, I’ve at least been cued in to what I do by jazz.

It’s Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, you know. They got a musical mind together and uh, you can’t explain it.