Alexandre Desplat Quotes

I grew up in a house full of music. Everything from reggae and afro-beat to Zook and pop.

I started buying records in the '80s. I listened to everything new wave, disco, funk synth-pop, rock, but in my house we were listening to bossa nova, tango, and folk.

The first thing I heard was spiritual music, which was imbedded. The second thing I heard was swing. And shortly, along with that, I began to hear the blues. And then I began to hear Latin music. Each one left its mark.

Some people's parents listened to the Beatles... but my family is Alquimia, Celia Cruz, and Carlos Vives - this old, rich Colombian music. I loved hearing that while I was growing up.

My primary influences were the best jazz players from the 50's and 60's and later some of the pop people from the same time period along with the better of the well known blues musicians.

My music is jazz.

As a kid, I was listening to Aretha Franklin, Etta James and hip-hop as well as music my parents were listening to, like Joni Mitchell and Leonard Cohen.

Lately I've been listening to some classical music again, some jazz.

Chicago gave me more music than any other city in America.

I learned a lot from Xavier Cugat.

I listened to King Oliver and I listened to Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, John Coltrane, Archie Shepp... I listened to everything I could that came from that place that they call the blues but, in formality, isn't necessarily the blues.

My musical influences are from the '50s: Bill Evans, Miles Davis and Ahmad Jamal.

A lot of my success comes from black music. It's something I'm very proud of.

Jazz is a very accurate, curiously accurate accompaniment to 20th century America.

In jazz, there is a lot of European influence harmonically.

Jazz told people about the special music that came out of America and about America in general and this kind of liberty and freedom that we have.

Jazz was my first love.

I listen to classical music very much. There's a lot of jazz that I don't enjoy listening to.

Elvis Presley's music never meant anything to me. Mambo was the music I loved - it spoke to me.

I've always loved jazz.

Mexican music runs through my veins. I loved it. Growing up, my father didn't allow us to listen to English music at home. That's all I heard. I had no choice.

People are going to wake up to this great reservoir of music we've created in America - cakewalks, one-steps, boogie-woogie, country and western. I had a bit to do with one of those traditions.

Jazz is more raw than punk in a lot of ways. It's so expressive. A lot of people say to me, especially older people, 'It took me ages to get into jazz.'

You know, jazz is the mother of all American music. R&B and pop and rap and everything are the branches on the main tree of the life of music, American music, which is jazz.

Darlin... be-bop is the music of the future.