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Risk is at the heart of jazz. Every note we play is a risk.
Steve Lacy
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Jazz music embodies the idea of taking risks, where each note represents an opportunity for creativity and expression.

This quote by Steve Lacy highlights the improvisational nature of jazz music, where musicians must embrace the uncertainty of each note they choose to play. In jazz, the element of risk is essential to the art form, as it allows for innovation and the creation of unique musical experiences that can only arise when artists venture beyond the safe and predictable.

Themes

JazzRiskCreativityMusicImprovisation

In practice

Example use cases

This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of creativity in the arts.

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A jazz musician is a combination orator, dialectician, mathematician, athlete, entertainer, poet, singer, dancer, diplomat, educator, student, comedian, artist, seducer, public masturbator, and general all-round good fellow.
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Play difficult and interesting things. If you play boring things, you risk losing your appetite. Saxophone can be tedious with too much of the same.
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