Harold Land

Jazzmen are our surrogates for the unpredictable, our paladins of constant change.

I’ll be writing songs till I die. There’s just no question.

Jazz is the only music in which the same note can be played night after night, but differently each time.

When I heard T-Bone, I flat out lost my mind.

I don’t think anybody steals anything; all of us borrow.

When you know the lyrics to a tune, you have some kind of insight as to it’s composition. If you don’t understand what it’s about, you’re depriving yourself of being really able to communicate this poem.

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of someone else.

Music was our wife and we loved her. We stayed with her, clothed her and put diamond rings on her hands.

Trying to play the new concept with a outward bound feeling.

Music that is born complex is not inherently better or worse than music that is born simple.

Musicians should never forget we’re blessed. We have a special gift that people enjoy through us.

What kills me is that everybody thinks I like Jazz.

Well, if you find a note tonight that sounds good, play the same damn note every night!

Don’t settle for style. Succeed in substance.

Many people forget that Jazz, no matter what form it takes, must come from the heart as well as the mind.