Don't quote me...

Here are a few interesting quotes by famous jazz musicians and some guy named Einstein. Some funny, some intriguing, and some to make you think or reflect on your own experiences...

Only play what you hear. If you don't hear anything, don't play anything.
~ Chick Corea

Jazz isn't dead, it just smells funny.
~ Frank Zappa

The history of a people are found in its songs.
~ George Jellinek

I start in the middle of a sentence and move both directions at once.
~ John Coltrane

I was unfashionable before anyone knew who I was.
~ Paul Desmond

Talking about music is like dancing about architecture.
~ Thelonious Monk

Imitate, assimilate, and innovate.
~ Clark Terry

Hipness is not a state of mind. It's a fact of life. You don't decide you're hip… It just happens that way.
~ Cannonball Adderley

It occurred to me by intuition, and music was the driving force behind that intuition. My discovery was the result of musical perception. (When asked about the theory of relativity)
~ Albert Einstein

Improvisation is the ability to talk to oneself.
~ Cecil Taylor

...don't think of yourself as a jazz musician. Think of yourself as a human being who plays music.
~ Charlie Haden