Benny Golson

I don’t dig staying in one groove.

One very important thing I learned from Monk was his complete dedication to music. That was his reason for being alive. Nothing else mattered except music, really.

I came from an era when we didn’t use electronic instruments. The bass wasn’t even amplified. The sound was the sound you got.

You don’t rehearse Jazz to death to get the camera angles.

I want a kick to my band, but I don’t want the rhythm to hog the spotlight.

[on Ornette Coleman] Man, that cat is nuts!

The blues comes right back to a person’s feelings, to his daily activities in life. But rich people don’t know nothing about the blues, please believe me.

Your ear is the final judge to what sounds right and what sounds wrong.

Jazz has always been a man telling the truth about himself.

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of someone else.

If I were to call it black music, that would be untrue. I don’t know what that is, unless it would be some African drums or something.

The piano ain’t got no wrong notes.

Jazz is very much alive. Everywhere I go there’s a new generation of musicians playing Jazz music.

Instrumental music is increasingly marginalized.

Eliminating the piano means that I’ve always worked closer with the bass than most players.