Horace Silver

Jazz music can relax, soothe and uplift the mind when you absorb it.

We open our minds, stretch forth, take chances and venture out musically to arrive at something new and different.

There is no such thing as a wrong note.

When I got pretty good I went on the road with a group. We starved.

Composing is a mindset, a part of who I am.

The true beauty of music is that it connects people.

When you are so strongly drawn to music, you can’t ‘not’ be a musician.

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.

In this era it’s harder for musicians to get together, … Back in the ’80s, we were all at the clubs, you ran into people all the time. Now, everybody’s kind of in their own room with their computers. I use making an album as an opportunity to connect with musicians.

I can’t listen to music too often. It affects your nerves, makes you want to say stupid nice things and stroke the heads of people who could create such beauty while living in this vile hell.

I regard singing pretty much like acting. Each song is like playing a different role. I get very involved with my material. I feel a responsibility for the emotion it brings out in the listener.

People will hire you and then tell you not to do what you were doing when they heard you.

Good music is good music and everything else can go to hell.

I wanted to put jazz on the record, all the loves of music that I had on the record, so I could show people I was ahead of my 19 years. It may have been over the heads of some people.

I didn’t know the right names for anything at first, but I knew what knocked me out. Changes… man I dug.

Is there a meaning to music? Yes. Can you state in so many words what the meaning is? No.

Play what you feel, feel what you play.