Paul Horn Quotes

One thing about playing the real jazz is that you can't count it.

Jazz is a hard music, and you have to really work hard and also have fun performing; that's the most important thing.

Jazz is not the kind of music you are going to learn to play in three or four years or that you can just get because you have some talent for music.

I consider myself a jazz singer. I think I stick to the roots of improvisation, singing in front of the beat, behind the beat, playing with notes and harmonies.

Jazz scares me. I've witnessed so many incredible singers and jazz musicians. Pop and soul music have always been the things that I felt like I could do.

I learned my phrasing from Frank. I loved him so much.

Jazz was more of a tool for me to use to enhance my musicality.

I grew up listening to John Coltrane and jazz, so they were subtle influences. I sometimes think about doing some kind of weird jazz record, but I don't know... It's on my list of things to do. I don't want to have to then go promote it.

The only element of jazz that I keep is improvisation.

And I played in jazz band as well during all three years in school.

I think jazz is a wonderful learning tool.

I'm comfortable singing jazz. The only thing I was concerned about is that everybody, even in jazz, has their own style. To me, the queen of doodling was Ella Fitzgerald, and scatting is something I never thought I could do.

I think that's what I love about jazz is that you can do what you want, and you're allowed to mess up.

Most jazz players work out their solos, at least to the extent that they have a very specific vocabulary.

If I'm going to be a jazz player, I need to understand Miles Davis.

I don't think I've ever been true to jazz. There's always a kind of jazz element to what I do. There are a very few genres that I haven't tried out, really, in what I've been doing. As a jazz musician, you can kind of mess about with things with a certain level of musicianship, which helps.

In some ways, jazz is the most precise of art forms and the loosest in the sense that it's all about improvisation, but the musicianship required is kind of insane. To actually play with real jazz musicians is a different level of musicianship that almost has no equal in any other form of music in the world.

So I went into jazz and performed in jazz clubs all over the country.

The starting point of all great jazz has got to be format, a language that you can work within that, in some ways, is much tighter than the blues or even gospel. It's all working towards the same destination - the difference being that Miles Davis flew there, and I'm still taking the subway.

I don't know any jazz stuff. I don't know how to jam in that way. So jamming, for me, is writing a tune.

In essence, I feel I'm more jazz guitar player because I write vehicles geared for improvisation.

I love jazz and blues, where there's a structure, but a lot of the cool stuff is veering off the page and playing.

I wanted to be a jazz musician.

My foundation is jazz. I do all the things jazz musicians do.

I've always gravitated toward technical music in general. I love jazz fusion.