Bobby McFerrin Quotes

The first band I was in, I think was called The Strangers. I got the sack because I was too small!

I got my first trumpet when I was six years old, from Al Hirt. My father was playing in Al Hirt's band at that time.

Miles Davis had me play and he hired me the following week and after that, everything broke wide open.

If Harry Connick Jr. wants to call me and ask me to join his band, that would be fine with me. I'm happy, but if he calls, I would pick up.

I was in band all the way through high school, and I played in jazz competitions all across Iowa.

In college, I was able to be the vocalist for the jazz band at Arkansas State.

People always think I was just playing in a piano bar, but I only did that for about six months. The rest of the time I was playing in bands.

I always tell my students when you're going to be a jazz musician the first thing you've got to do is be a professional musician, and that means you have to feed yourself with the instrument.

I got my first set of drums when I was around 3. I went from band to marching band to Latin jazz band - it's like riding a bike.

I came to L.A. in 1970, and my desire and my training was to be a studio musician, which I had read about in my senior year in high school.

I wasn't a trained Mickey Mouse club performer. I played in jazz clubs and restaurants.

I went with Lionel Hampton for three years. Out of that came a trip to Europe.

I've discovered all kinds of music and done all kinds of music over the past 40 years, from playing tango with Piazzolla to all the different bands I've had.

My mother is a singer, still performs today; she's a jazz singer.

There were so many specific things from high school jazz band that I remembered: the conductor searching out people who were out of tune, or stopping and starting me for hours in front of the band as they watched.

I don't know if they were all functioning, but I did play in a bunch of bands.

Luckily for me, when I was growing up in high school, I had a band, and I was a singer in the band. I'm less of a legit Broadway singer than I am a pop-rock singer.

I became a professional musician and played all kinds of music. I played bluegrass, I played classical music, and for many years, I played jazz.

My first recording, a guy came down to Philadelphia and heard me play and he introduced me to Alfred Lion.

So in one sense you don't have the classic keyboard player in Yes.

I played bass guitar in high school and in college and then I actually fractured my thumb, so my bass career went bye-bye.

I played guitar and bass. I didn't do much vocals, although I did have one band where I was the lead singer. But that was when I was in college.

I went to Juilliard in New York and used to do cabarets just for fun. Occasionally, I would get together with a jazz musician and play at a restaurant for cash. And I've done some background vocals for recording artists.

Music is something I do full-time in real life. I was doing music long before I was even thinking about acting.

I always wanted to be a full-time musician. Every television job I had was a means to buy a grand piano, or to put in a recording studio, or something like that.