Stephane Grappelli

The essentials of Jazz are: melodic improvisation, melodic invention, swing and instrumental personality.

There’s a sadness to all kinds of music if you want to hear it. There’s also happiness to it if you want to hear it.

My fans are the best in the world! They’ve grown up with me and stayed with me through this entire journey.

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.

A Jazz musician is supposed to find his voice, find his niche and do his thing.

I never practice my guitar. From time to time I just open the case and throw in a piece of raw meat.

Jazz is such a powerful cultural statement that it’s almost as if it’s intertwined with society.

I hope my recordings of my own works won’t inhibit other people’s performances. The brutal fact is that one doesn’t always get the exact tempo one wants, although one improves with experience.

If you are not doing what you love, you are wasting your time!

Everybody came. Everybody came to the Cotton Club.

I never had a chance to play with dolls like other kids. I started working when I was 6 years old.

Instrumental music can spread the international language.

And if I had a preference, it would be to be able to not be in the studio until 4 in the morning.

I’m always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up in the morning and see the light. Then I’m grateful.

[Stratocaster vs Les Paul] It’s a totally different animal. One is for very subtle and, I would say, more musical things that you can distract and abuse. You can’t do that with a Les Paul. It’s too delicate. It’s got a very delicate tone; most people don’t ever realize that because they are plugged into monstrous amplifiers which completely, instantaneously covers up the unique sound quality it has. All those years of development go straight out the window when you overload the amp.