DuBose Heyward

What we do as artists is a combination of experience and imagination. How that creeps into your work is not so linear.

The more you listen, the more your hear.

I feel like….Music is the – it’s the answer. It’s the reason.

When we were at the Apollo, Holiday was a block away. I asked her for her autograph.

You don’t have to live the blues to play the blues.

There’s always room for improvisation or changes of expression.

We didn’t have any segregation at the Cotton Club. No. The Cotton Club was wide open, it was free

We’re more popular than Jesus Christ now. I don’t know which will go first; rock and roll or Christianity.

My wife Martha used to call me Ol’ Lemon Face because of my facial contortions when I play Lucille. I squeeze my eyes and open my mouth, raise my eyebrows, cock my head and God knows what else. I look like I’m in torture, when in truth, I’m in ecstasy. I don’t do it for show. Every fiber of my being is tingling.

One way or the other, if you want to find reasons why you shouldn’t keep on, you’ll find ’em. The obstacles are all there; there are a million of ’em.

Sometimes I just think that there are more things to be said to make the audience understand what I’m trying to do more. When I’m singing, I don’t want you to just hear the melody. I want you to relive the story, because most of the songs have pretty good storytelling.

Every symphony, for example, is a sonata for orchestra; every string quartet is a sonata for four strings; every concerto a sonata for a solo instrument and orchestra.

If a player is pushing their ability, a certain amount of failure is inevitable. Maybe even desirable.

Music always turns into music. As soon as I play a key, push a key down, there’s no theory any more. When I go and I hear a sound on the keyboard, all theories go out the window.

Joe’s been my drummer for 14 years, and we’ve been buddies for six years.