I wanna hear myself everywhere
When women come up to me like, ‘I am a freaking senator,’ or, ‘I’m a doctor,’ it’s like, ‘Damn, y’all like me? I look up to y’all!’
I have 100 percent Bronx pride like it’s a country like I AM the Bronx.
If a girl have beef with me, she gon’ have beef with me forever.
I pay my mama’s bills, I ain’t got no time to chill.
The faster I make a lot of money, the faster I can have these kids I want.
Being a feminist is being equal to what a man do
Well if I could play like Wynton Marsalis, I wouldn’t play like Wynton.
The inspired moment may sometimes be described as a kind of hallucinatory state of mind: one half of the personality emotes and dictates while the other half listens and notates. The half that listens has better look the other way, had better simulate a half attention only, for the half that dictates is easily disgruntled and avenges itself for too close inspection by fading entirely away.
As soon as it was understood that we could handle things in our own way, it was the thrill of my life to walk out on that stage with people just hemming the band in.
When you begin to teach Jazz, the most dangerous thing is to teach style.
It’s difficult for me to dislike an artist, no matter what he’s creating.
Nothing is out of the question for me. Im always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up in the morning and see the light Then Im grateful.
If music is sound and came from silence, then silence is potentially greater than sound.
I’m an interpreter of stories. When I perform it’s like sitting down at my piano and telling fairy stories.
If it ain’t fun, I want no part of it man. That’s the reason I play.
I never have any trouble playing anything I can think of. The trouble is thinking of what to play.
People always ask, “Why jazz?” and I’m like “Why not?” It’s kind of like asking Seurat, “Why so many dots?” I imagine if you asked Bjork, “Why the Tibetan bells?” She’d probably be like “That’s just what I heard.” It’s the same thing. This is just the way I see music.
I’ve been a jazz artist playing pop and R&B my entire career.
To the person who uses music as a medium for the expression of ideas, feelings, images, or what have you; anything which facilitates this expression is properly his instrument.
To this day, I don’t like people walking on stage not looking good. You have to look good. If you feel special about yourself then you’re going to play special.
Jazz is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.
