Lee Morgan

It’s either hip or it ain’t.

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

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

If there is no dance, there is not music.

Don’t threaten me with love, baby. Let’s just go walking in the rain.

Jazz is not to be sliced into bites by mass marketing geniuses who assume we are mindless cattle.

I’m a fan first. I believed Duke Ellington when he said there’s no bad music, just some of it is presented badly. As a kid, hanging around Church Street, the presentation of music was so powerful, I couldn’t help but jump for joy. I had discovered art, or truth, or whatever you want to call it; I had seen a light I’d follow forever.

Every day when I sit down to play, I learn something new.

Hell, nobody knows where jazz is going to go. There may be a kid right now in Chitlin Switch, Georgia, who is going to come along and upset everybody.

Art is a subject that is inundated with opinions. In fact, that’s all it is about is opinions.

I’ve sung a lot of emotional songs, but when you’re writing it’s very difficult to decide what to reveal.

I’ve tried all my life to avoid copying. If I can’t be myself, there’s no point being in Jazz.

As far as playing jazz, no other art form, other than conversation, can give the satisfaction of spontaneous interaction.

I want a kick to my band, but I don’t want the rhythm to hog the spotlight.

I like people who have worked long and hard, developing through introspection and dedication.

If you have something in your life worth celebrating, you can put it in a blues song.