Ornette Coleman

How can I turn emotion into knowledge? That’s what I try to do with my horn.

The hidden things, the subconscious that lies in the body and lets you know: You feel this, you play this.

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

Dog spelled backward is God. That’s pretty heavy.

I don’t really live like a musician myself. I think music is just something that I do, but I’d like to be doing lots of other things. I like to cure all kinds of illness.

I wasn’t so interested in being paid. I wanted to be heard. That’s why I’m broke.

You have a mentor or teacher and you learn all he can show you.

Jazz improvisation is an elusive genius.

There’s such a cynicism about the phrase ‘I laughed all the way to the bank.’ It’s as though money is what you’re doing, rather than playing music. If you’re playing a money game, why not get into banking?

Count don’t do nothin’. But it sure sounds good.

Music is an addiction.

Women bring something different to an instrument if they are respectful of their feminine aesthetic.

You only get better by playing.

Music is born out of the inner sounds within a soul.

I never wanted to be like other blues singers. I might like hearing them play, but I’ve never wanted to be anyone other than myself. There are a few people that I’ve wished I could play like, but when I tried, it didn’t work.

As a young cellist I had played to an audience that had included Pablo Casals and reacted with poor, nervous playing. Casals sought me out after the concert and praised me highly, somewhat easing the pain and thinking him a very kind man.

That’s a great thing about jazz. We leave it a little space so that we have the opportunity to go where the moment takes us

I kind of hate the fact that people are always trying to put you into a category. I hate walls, and I hate boundaries. I don’t like that. I listen to everything.

Anything I do has to be directly related to my music. If it isn’t, I don’t really see a point to it.

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

Typically I go in the studio and whatever I’m contemplating that day will wind up being a song. I don’t come in with lyrics… I just go in and let it happen.