I feel that for years of teaching in the country and reading criticism in books, I feel like the things most needed in our culture are the understanding of the meanings of our music. We haven’t done that good of job teaching our kids what our music means or how we developed our taste in music that reminds us and teaches us who we are. Wynton Marsalis Read Quote
What I’ve learned how to do as I’ve gotten older is to take all of the information that I have, and push it aside, and try to distill each song into an emotional theme. The hardest thing that I’ve ever had to learn how to do in playing music is use the sound of my instrument to create an emotional effect. Wynton Marsalis Read Quote
I became a man in New York. New York made me the musician that I am and the person that I am, so it’s impossible for me to say I regret having lived there. Wynton Marsalis Read Quote
The majority of the high schools and the public schools in N.Y.C. don’t even have band programs. Hip-hop in a lot of ways is an outgrowth of a lack of instruments and a desire to play music, so we can’t really fault the kids for that. Wynton Marsalis Read Quote
The main three components are the blues, improvisation – which is some kind of element that people are trying to make it up – and swing, which means even though they’re making up music, they’re trying to make it up together. It feels great, like you’re having a great conversation with somebody. Wynton Marsalis Read Quote
I sounded like myself. People be saying I sound like Miles or Clifford Brown. Wynton Marsalis Read Quote
The musicians I respected were much older than me. I expected them to cut my head, and they did. Wynton Marsalis Read Quote
I believe in professionalism, but playing is not like a job. You have to be grateful to have the opportunity to play. Wynton Marsalis Read Quote
