Jackie Mclean

If you like an instrument that sings, play the saxophone. At its best it’s like the human voice

It’s a matter of who would be right for each song. Mickey Hart for ‘All We Need is An Island’ – he’s the only guy I know who has Tahitian drums and every kind of drum on the planet.

I always liked the steel guitar. I also love the guys that play the bottleneck. But I could never do it; I never made it do what I want. So every time I would pick up the guitar, I’d shake my hand and trill it a bit. For some strange reason my ears would say to me that sounds similar to what those guys were doing. I can’t pick up the guitar now without doing it. So that’s how I got into making my sound. It was nothing pretty. Just trying to please myself. I heard that sound.

If a guy’s got it, let him give it. I’m selling music, not prejudice.

I’m creating music – it doesn’t matter if anyone else likes it.

I never stop being amazed by all the different ways of playing the guitar and making it deliver a message.

I cannot say what I think is right about Music. I only know the rightness of it.

I remember Glenn Miller coming to me once, before he had his own band, saying, How do you do it? How do you get started? It’s so difficult. I told him, I don’t know but whatever you do don’t stop. Just keep on going.

I really liked Wynton when I first met him. He’s still a nice young man, only confused.

To this day, I don’t like people walking on stage not looking good. You have to look good. If you feel special about yourself then you’re going to play special.

I’m just trying to create context for me to improve my musicianship.

I don’t know where Jazz is going. Maybe it’s going to hell. You can’t make anything go anywhere. It just happens.

The drummer; he inspired me to play like no one else I have ever met.

Darlin… be-bop is the music of the future.

Every time I see a musician – it doesn’t matter what age – that inspires me, there’s always a secret little wish that maybe we’ll play together, because that’s how I learn and grow and so forth, you know. But hopefully there’s a lot more.