As a jazz musician, you have individual power to create the sound. You also have a responsibility to function in the context of other people who have that power also. Wynton Marsalis Read Quote
There’s always the cliche of the choir shouting and clapping. OK, you have to do that, but there’s also introspective parts, parts where you just follow someone that’s preaching. There’s lots of different emotions and moods that a service requires. Wynton Marsalis Read Quote
In the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra we play such a diversity of music, with 10 arrangers in the band, we don’t really worry about whether it’s contemporary or not. Wynton Marsalis Read Quote
I grew up in the South, and our way of dealing with each other was teasing, ribbing, making fun and scrapping in the street. Criticism doesn’t bother me so much. It actually made me, when I was younger, more aggressive. But you get into middle age, and you lose interest in that stuff. It’s not serious. Wynton Marsalis Read Quote
Jazz comes from our way of life, and because it’s our national art form, it helps us to understand who we are. Wynton Marsalis Read Quote
The history of jazz lets us know that this period in our history is not the only period we’ve come through together. If we truly understood the history of our national arts, we’d know that we have mutual aspirations, a shared history, in good times and bad. Wynton Marsalis Read Quote
My schedule is always tight. But I like to have the pressure of having to finish doing something; it gives me an added edge. Wynton Marsalis Read Quote
Generally, when I wake up in the morning I set out a series of problems for myself and I write them down, and when I’m sleeping, my mind solves the problems. When I wake up in the morning, I have more clarity on the issue. Wynton Marsalis Read Quote
