Gerald Clayton Quotes

I'm suspicious of the idea of categories in music and this idea of things being in boxes. To me, that seems unnatural. I write the music that somebody with my biography would write, and the thing that's always driven me is an enthusiasm for the material. I sort of follow the notes to where they want to go.

A good interpreter can take a piece of bad music and make it sound pretty decent, while a bad interpreter can take good music and make it sound cheap. I can tell that some people have a bad taste, and unlike on the piano, they smear around a lot, that is bad taste.

I found the blues too limiting, and classical was too disciplined.

I think the music defends myself. I don't think anyone should put a race on any genre. It's just a way of expressing yourself through instruments and sounds, right? People can just listen to the music.

Who's to say a blues man can't play rock and roll?

To me the bottom line is: good music is good music.

I don't try to make the guitar sound like the harpsichord or lute. That makes you end up being like a bad copy.

What is music about? You can't listen to one era, one composer, and know what music is about.

It was important for me to remind people that there's no formula... there's no boundary to R&B music.

Music is music; you don't have to put a label on it.

Great music is great music, period.

Good music is good music, and everything else can go to hell.

All along, I did what I was comfortable doing, which was to play the music I enjoyed and try to stretch the parameters a bit. Country and bluegrass and folk were my foundation.

I just think people should find the music that helps them through the day and enjoy that. I've never felt like, if somebody does or doesn't like what I'm doing, it's a morality issue.

A name doesn't make the music. It's just called that to differentiate it from other types of music.

There is two kinds of music, the good, and the bad. I play the good kind.

Just the type of music that was around at the same time as I was writing. Some of it was wicked, definitely. But there was just one direction which I thought could be pushed that no one was pushing.

I love a lot of music that's considered folk music, but I also love a lot of music that's considered punk or considered rap. I don't mind being called a folk singer. But it seems a bit limiting. I want to be able to write whatever kind of song I want.

There are times when what's happening in rock is the best music in the world, and there are times when there is nothing worthwhile at all.

People are always defining and re-defining music. My style of playing has been characterized as smooth jazz and acid jazz. I listen as I play; I'm not caught up in defining the type of music I play.

I'm sick of all these labels and these manufactured subdivisions of music that don't even exist. And even though I'm pierced myself, I'm sick of everyone equating body piercing with musical courage. If you ask me, it takes a lot more than that.

Music is only good sometimes.

I sang 'Nessun Dorma' twice with Pavarotti, and he told me he'd heard 'Smoke' about five or six times, and every time was different. He was so jealous because if he deviated one jot from the traditional interpretation of the famous arias, he'd be crucified. We have the freedom.

Music is music and there are only two types: good and bad.

Of course, I'm open to all kinds of genres. In my head, there are no demarcations.