Dizzy Gillespie

I don’t care much about music. What I like is sounds.

One of the reasons we’re here is to be a part of this process of exchange.

The sign of a mature musician is knowing what not to play.

They’re not particular whether you’re playing a flat 5th or a ruptured 129th as long as they can dance.

They’re not particular about whether you’re playing a flatted fifth or a ruptured 129th as long as they can dance to it.

It’s taken me all my life to learn what not to play.

You just sort of have to play the way you are.

I often wonder whether Negroes like myself who are pretty well known help out at all in breaking down barriers.

Our music artistry should not be disconnected from our lives or ourselves.

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.

Working with Benny was important for me and for black musicians in general.

You give up your own personality when you imitate somebody.

I wrote “Pilot of My Destiny” because of my love of flying. The fact that my brother is a pilot inspired me to write it. I call him pilot. He calls me copilot.

I’m not claiming divinity. I’ve never claimed purity of soul. I’ve never claimed to have the answers to life. I only put out songs and answer questions as honestly as I can… But I still believe in peace, love and understanding.

Most of the stuff I learned to play, I learned in high school. I had a band in high school, a jazz-fusion thing, and I was the keyboard player. I was interested in how the instruments worked and the theory behind playing with them.

The more you play, the more you hear and the more you hear, the more you want to play.

People complain about the music industry, but this is a great time to be a musician.

The true musician is to bring light into people’s hearts.

I can’t understand guys who just have to have your autograph. What do you do when you get home, take it out and look at it?

I realized by using the high notes of the chords as a melodic line, and by the right harmonic progression, I could play what I heard inside me. That’s when I was born.

I’m not going to change the way I look or the way I feel to conform to anything. I’ve always been a freak. So I’ve been a freak all my life and I have to live with that, you know. I’m one of those people.