Bill Evans

Jazz is a mental attitude rather than a style. It uses a certain process of the mind expressed spontaneously through some musical instrument. I’m concerned with retaining that process.

Keep searching for that sound you hear in your head until it becomes a reality.

Especially, I want my work-and the trios if possible-to sing.

You can’t explain Jazz to anyone without losing the experience because it’s feeling, not words.

To imitate someone is to insult them.

I say this because it’s a good message to give to young talents who feel as I used to. You hear musicians playing with great fluidity and complete conception early on, and you don’t have that ability. I didn’t. I had to know what I was doing. And ultimately it turned out that these people weren’t able to carry their thing very far. I found myself being more attracted to artists who have developed through the years and become better and deeper musicians.I believe in things that are developed through hard work.

Jazz is the type of music that can absorb so many things and still be Jazz.

All the music that was ever heard came from the inner silence in every musician.

The minute I stop singing orally, I start to sing by playing Lucille.

The only thing better than singing is more singing.

You know at an early age if you have a talent for music.

Even if you have some brilliant jazz ideas, it’s going to be difficult to get them across unless you have 1-a distinctive sound or 2- a loud sound. These are musts.

The joy of music should never be interrupted by a commercial.

I fell in love with Jazz when I was 12 listening to Duke Ellington and hearing a lot of Jazz in New York on the radio.

There’s a way of playing safe, there’s a way of using tricks and there’s the way I like to play which is dangerously where you’re going to take a chance on making mistakes in order to create something you haven’t created before.

Jazz affirms the noblest aspirations of character, individual discipline, perseverance and innovation.

If someone thinks that peace and love are just a cliche that must have been left behind in the 60s, that’s a problem. Peace and love are eternal.

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

I consider myself a poet first and a musician second. I live like a poet and I’ll die like a poet.

Jazz music is our original American culture.

I felt like I was making a record under the radar, and that is my favorite way to do anything.