I, of course, wanted to play real jazz. When we played pop tunes, and naturally we had to, I wanted those pops to kick! Not loud and fast, understand, but smoothly and with a definite punch.
Count BasieRead
I'm saying: to be continued, until we meet again. Meanwhile, keep on listening and tapping your feet.
Interpretation
The quote encourages an ongoing engagement with life and music, implying that every moment is part of a larger journey.
Count Basie's quote expresses the idea of continuity and the anticipation of reunions in life and art. It highlights the importance of living in the moment while also looking forward to future experiences, all while enjoying the beauty of music along the way.
In practice
This quote can be shared at a memorial service to celebrate the beauty of life.
I, of course, wanted to play real jazz. When we played pop tunes, and naturally we had to, I wanted those pops to kick! Not loud and fast, understand, but smoothly and with a definite punch.
All I wanted was to be big, to be in show business and to travel ... and that's what I've been doing all my life.
If you find a note tonight that sounds good, play the same damn note every night!
I'll always remember when I first heard Lester [Young]. I'd never heard anyone like him before. He was a stylist with a different sound. A sound I'd never heard before or since. To be honest with you, I didn't much like it at first.
I never thought innovation as such was very important. Not when you have to think about it... If you're going to come up with a new direction or a really new way to do something, you'll do it by just playing your stuff and letting it ride. The real innovators did their innovating by just being themselves.
Of course, there are a lot of ways you can treat the blues, but it will still be the blues.
If it screams truth rather than help, if it commits itself with a courage that it can't be sure it really has, if it stands up and admits that something is wrong, but doesn't insist on blood, then it's rock n' roll.
That's the thing about the blues: It's one thing to hit a note on a guitar. To make it matter is something else altogether.
One of the reasons I believe in jazz is that the oneness of man can come through the rhythm of your heart. It’s the same anyplace in the world, that heartbeat. It’s the first thing you hear when you’re born — or before you’re born — and it’s the last thing you hear.
The bass is the link between harmony and rhythm. It is the foundation of a band. It is what all the other instruments stand upon, but it is rarely recognized as that.
We'd like to think that our music will always be bigger than any one of our individual personalities.
Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Merle Haggard, Hank Williams. All of them are different styles, but those are the songs that make the times. They're the songs that last through time.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.