Sonny Rollins Music Quotations

As the years went by and jazz got more popular and social conditions changed, you were able to have jazz as a topic introduced into the music curriculum in universities, ... I think that one thing that hip-hop and jazz have in common is that they are both coming out of the minority subculture and we've faced some of the same problems. They are attacked in different ways . . . but they are a minority in a majority culture, so they are unfortunately discriminated against by the larger portion of the majority community.

So the people over there have a very advanced appreciation of music and they recognize the power and the beauty and the wonderfulness of jazz.

I'm fortunate that I'm making a living at it now because I'm not equipped to do anything else.

Improvisation is the ability to create something very spiritual, something of one's own.

One very important thing I learned from Monk was his complete dedication to music. That was his reason for being alive. Nothing else mattered except music, really.

I simply want to reach a level where I will never cease to make progress...so that, even on the bad evenings, I may never be bad enough to despair.

Many jazz artists go to L.A. seeking a more comfortable life and then they really stop playing.

No one is original. Everyone is derivative.

I'm now a legend, whether I want to be or not.

I feel that Jazz improvisation is the ultimate. You have to create on the spot, the essence of this music.

I'm not supposed to be playing, the music is supposed to be playing me. I'm just supposed to be standing there with the horn, moving my fingers. The music is supposed to be coming through me; that's when it's really happening.

Jazz is the type of music that can absorb so many things and still be jazz.

The thing is this: When I play, what I try to do is to reach my subconscious level. I don't want to overtly think about anything, because you can't think and play at the same time - believe me, I've tried it (laughs).

Music represents nature. Nature represents life. Jazz represents nature. Jazz is life.