Stan Getz

My dark sound could be heard across a room clearer than somebody with a reedy sound. It had more projection. My sound always seemed to fill a room.

The saxophone is an imperfect instrument, especially the tenor and soprano, as far as intonation goes. The challenge is to sing on an imperfect instrument that is outside of your body.

It’s like a language. You learn the alphabet, which are the scales. You learn sentences, which are the chords. And then you talk extemporaneously with the horn. It’s a wonderful thing to speak extemporaneously, which is something I’ve never gotten the hang of. But musically I love to talk just off the top of my head. And that’s what jazz music is all about.

I compulsively reach for perfection in music, often at the expense of everything else in my life.

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.

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

Difference between sex and love? Well, you’re not always sure you’re in love. But when you’re having sex, there’s really no mistaking it.

I find my inspiration in myself.

Despite the fact I’m a professional performer, it’s true that I have always preferred playing without an audience.

Sometimes I just think that there are more things to be said to make the audience understand what I’m trying to do more. When I’m singing, I don’t want you to just hear the melody. I want you to relive the story, because most of the songs have pretty good storytelling.

I like to sleep. There is no set time of day for sleep. You sleep when you’re tired and that’s all there is to it.

My improvisations are a beguiling mixture of the vertical and the horizontal.

I see my body as an instrument, rather than an ornament.

When you are so strongly drawn to music, you can’t ‘not’ be a musician.

I worked until I could play and do changes at any tempo in any key and said ‘What else is there?’ Now I’m finding out.

I adore extravagance but I abhor waste.

If you follow your passions, you’ll never work a day in your life.

A kiss that is never tasted, is forever and ever wasted.

It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.

One of the problems of people who live with pain is that they spend the whole day thinking about it, and it’s exasperating. But even when I am having a bad moment and I can’t get myself together, I get on stage and for an hour or two the pain becomes super-small. It’s about controlling the mind, telling the pain to step aside. Music does that. It’s the most fantastic drug in the world.

I’m famous… ain’t that a bitch?