Herbie Mann Quotes

Even the most jingoistic person would have to admit that even American cultural music comes from Europe. That's what classical music is, real European music.

I mean, the genuine roots of culture is folk music.

My taste in music originates from my culture and heritage, and from traveling the world and listening to all kinds of fun sounds and bits.

My CD collection has a lot of world music - lots of Indian, African, Portuguese, Greek, Italian music. Because of my husband, a lot of jazz, too.

It's like there's the rest of the world, and then there's America. Part of the reason I would really love continue to making music over here because so much of American music has inspired me, whether it's Jeff Buckley, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen.

I was bred and raised in a multi-cultural music background.

But an innovation, to grow organically from within, has to be based on an intact tradition, so our idea is to bring together musicians who represent all these traditions, in workshops, festivals, and concerts, to see how we can connect with each other in music.

I think every once in a while country has lost its way, but found its way back. It's always going to drift away from the traditional side, but then find a way to return. There's room for all kinds of influences be it pop, blues, gospel or whatever. But I will always say that I think we need more traditional country music coming down the pike.

I wanna show that gospel, country, blues, rhythm and blues, jazz, rock 'n' roll are all just really one thing. Those are the American music and that is the American culture.

I love music; I come from a region of Kurdistan that is a base for music.

I didn't know folk music growing up, no. It's something I've come to study, really, because I think there's so much to learn from traditional music in the sense of the way music began as a way of communication, the traveling storyteller, the bard, the minstrels.

When we moved back to the US, folk music was all the rage. So I traded in my banjo for a guitar.

Folk music is a bunch of fat people.

The music that I play and that I like is traditional music, maybe it's because of my age.

I'm not suggesting our music is the only music, but I am suggesting that there are certain elements in America's culture that are so precious that it would be a shame for them to go down the drain.

Mine is not a traditional music, but it comes from a tradition.

I grew up listening to everything. You know, from Argentinean folk music, tango, jazz, rock, just everything.

American music comes from the same tree, but sometimes we get to these places in history where we forget where things come from, and they get compartmentalized.

I would find myself being inspired by things that I've heard as a kid: Nigerian music or African music, some French music or some Jamaican music. When it's time for music to be made, it's almost like my ancestors just come into me and then it's them.

Colombian culture has a lot of music - it's in our blood; it's in our DNA.

Puerto Rico's relationship with music is everything. It's an island full of talent and if you grow up there, you grow up living and breathing music.

Folk music has a sort of a bubbling-under quality. The stream runs through the cultural consciousness, and whether or not it's on the radio is not the issue. Folk music is always there.

I've always had a close connection to both rock and classical music.

By growing up in Alabama, I had a melting pot of the whole pie: R&B, gospel, country.

Somalis really are very musically sophisticated, and they're about their own thing.