Cecil Taylor

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

I discovered very early that it wasn’t quite enough for me to imitate people.

We may not be changing the world dramatically, but we’re improving it one note at a time.

Music and culture are intrinsically improvisational, existential.

I’m glad I don’t have perfect pitch because it can drive you crazy.

The beauty of Jazz is that it’s malleable. People address it to suit their own personalities.

Oh, my darling, it’s incredible, that someone so unforgettable should think I am unforgettable, too.

My music had roots which I’d dug up from my own childhood, musical roots buried in the darkest soil.

Music is a verb.

Everybody did something. It was very entertaining. We had a lot of fun. Lot of fun. And there was no segregation, that I could see. I never saw any.

Music allows the great opportunity to play with people you love.

If a Jazz musician plays someone else’s song, he has a responsibility to make a distinct and original statement.

Unless I really loved it and felt really passionate about it, I would just kind of abort the song and start a new one.

The whole concept for the Yeezus album is that we’re not going to be using CDs in the future and since this is the last time we’re going to see it, this is an open casket for the CD.

I want to create music that’s therapeutic.

I did go through a trial-and-error period where I tried out lots of different guitars, but within a couple of years I was right back to the Les Paul. From that point it’s stayed with me ever since. I have other guitars—and I love a lot of them—but I’m most at home on a Les Paul. It’s interesting: most of the time I would even rather make a Les Paul do the things those other guitars do. From the get-go, the Les Paul spoke to me.

I think I was supposed to play Jazz.