I went to a Catholic high school, and I was super rebellious. I would dress weird or play jazz. I was definitely pushing against whatever was going on. Jose James Read Quote
My goal is to write one book of fiction, and that’s all I want to do. It takes so much time, and I don’t really have enough time. But I admire writers so much. Jose James Read Quote
I feel like Europe is way more advanced. They’re way more open to the definition of jazz. More cool. They’re like, ‘You want to do that? Awesome. You want to work with a rapper? Awesome.’ They’re not, ‘Aah, it’s not real jazz.’ Jose James Read Quote
When it’s all said and done, jazz with a capital J is where I’m coming from. Dexter Gordon, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk – that’s what I really studied when I was a teenager and what really fueled my passion. Jose James Read Quote
I think the frustration you can get into as a young artist is when you realize your limitations, but you want to accomplish that rather than seeing that you don’t have to do everything. Just focus on your strengths. Jose James Read Quote
Kind of the sad thing is that – it’s still true – a lot of jazz people just listen to jazz, and a lot of hip-hop people just listen to hip-hop, and there’s not a lot of crossover, unfortunately. Jose James Read Quote
I’m a man that’s unique to the world. That’s kind of the star I was born under – on the cusp of Capricorn and Aquarius. My mother is Irish-American, and my father is Afro-Panamanian, so it’s kind of been the story of my life to be a bridge between different cultures and different styles, and musically, that’s between jazz and R&B. Jose James Read Quote
Whenever I’m talking about relationships, it’s always at least three things. It’s my relationship with myself, my relationship with God or an idea, and then usually somebody, a real person. I try to operate on all three levels at the same time, and it’s difficult, but I never want to have a break-up song or something like that. Jose James Read Quote
I think comparisons are very on the surface. If I sing, like, ‘Park Bench People,’ and there’s kind of a social undertone, people will say I sound like Gil Scott-Heron. But for me, the more insightful comparison would be a Roberta Flack or Nina Simone – people who really mix different genres of music. Jose James Read Quote
I think a lot of times we think of music as being different from other art forms. You would never ask a sculptor or painter, ‘Go paint this because you’ll get paid more,’ you know what I mean? Jose James Read Quote
