Joe Zawinul

Music can’t save the world, but can make one a little calmer.

I’m my own most merciless critic onstage.

My neighbors always listen to very hip Jazz… whether they like it or not.

Will the people in the cheaper seats clap your hands? All the rest of you, if you

I’ve seen myself on those lists of the 100 best guitarists, and if they think that I’m that good, thank them. Thank God for them. But I don’t think so.

We made records to document ourselves, not to sell a lot of records. I still feel that way. I put out a record because I think it’s beautiful, not necessarily commercial.

Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.

Writing about music is like dancing about architecture.

When you listen to someone improvise, the notes that are played are only half the story.

I got a chance to listen to and watch Thelonious Monk and his quartet play two shows a night, for six weeks. It was a great education. There was my university, man.

To keep a band together you simply need a gimmick. The gimmick I use is to pay them money.

How do you explain what it feels like to get on the stage and make poetry that you know sinks into the hearts and souls of people who are unable to express it.

The high note is not the only thing.

Give it a good go, try to have fun at it, try to pass on some good notes and some good sounds to your fans, and I don’t think you will have wasted your time.

I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me-like food or water.

I want people to walk away with the same joy, hope and love that I put into my music.