Renee Rosnes

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

It’s up to the individual to keep up with the times.

We in the Western world suffer from too many categories and classes; we’ve forgotten that we all still have diapers on. We’ve separated music from life.

I’ve said that playing the blues is like having to be black twice. Stevie Ray Vaughan missed on both counts, but I never noticed.

The other day I came across a recording I made of a night at my apartment when I was living with Kris Kristofferson. Bob Dylan had been around earlier and we were all passing around the guitar. Whenever it came to my turn I would run into the kitchen and say I’d left the coffee on the stove or something. Shyness. Scared to perform.

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?

I don’t dig staying in one groove.

Well, for me it’s – music is the instrument of life.

But the guitar, my lady, whether well played or badly played, well strung or badly strung, is pleasant to hear and listen to; being so easy to learn, it attracts the busiest of talented people and makes them put aside loftier occupations so that they may hold a guitar in their hands.

Albert King wasn’t my brother in blood, but he sure was my brother in Blues!

I heard someone say ‘What’s that kid doing here? Call your piano player and let’s get started.’

Even if you have some brilliant jazz ideas, it’s going to be difficult to get them across unless you have 1-a distinctive sound or 2- a loud sound. These are musts.

There’s only one bass player in a band. I’m the best bass player of any band I’m in.

Miles Davis and John Coltrane were so cool, if alive today global warming wouldn’t be an issue.

One minute we’re over here, the next minute we’re doing something completely different. But it’s interesting because you are producing so many things you couldn’t do with analog.