David Geffen

I never thought that I would have a career in show business…

The concept known as bal tashchit – ‘Do no destroy’ – has a special significance in Jewish tradition…We are constantly being warned in our faith that the capricious, thoughtless, wasteful destruction of the elements and creatures of the earth is wrong…We should remind ourselves daily of our responsibility to all aspects of creation.

I never felt I was too protective. I felt I was functioning as a dam against the river of sh*t that comes pouring down on artists, and it was a job that I took very seriously.

I’m a great believer in anything that makes you 1 percent better. So I try everything. Freudian. Jungian. Est. Life Spring. Course in Miracles. Twelve Steps. I have pain from time to time. I have joy from time to time.

[In 1969] I thought how awful, this poor girl is being managed by someone who had no respect for her at all… I’ve been her agent since then.

I don’t think people get to be successful unless they have very strong egos.

I don’t get jazz. It always sounds like a bunch of toddlers let loose in a music room.

Anyone who understands Jazz knows that you can’t understand it. It’s too complicated. That’s what’s so simple about it.

Critics get a little carried away with what someone should have done, rather than what he did.

The Blues? It’s the mother of American music. That’s what is is – the source.

Jazz is restless. It won’t stay put and it never will.

What a fool I am to think my breaking heart could kid the moon.

You give up your own personality when you imitate somebody.

The thing to judge in any jazz artist is, does the man project and does he have ideas.

Being a musician is what I do, but it’s not what I am.

Life is a lot like jazz. It’s best when you improvise.

The reason I write music is that I feel it’s a vehicle or channel which leads to your true self, your essence.

The first time I went to Paris, it just felt like I was home. I didn’t question it.

Music must be an innovation.

I love to hear the note sing.

Jazz Improvisation means that practice is not as straightforward as it would be when you simply have a score to play.