Pat Metheny Inspirational Quotes (34)

The beauty of jazz is that it's malleable. People are addressing it to suit their own personalities.

I think that the melodic piece of the puzzle in music is the most esoteric and difficult to quantify.

Avant-garde, jazz, pop, classical, country and western, rock, free, straight-ahead, etc. are ultimately meaningless terms in the face of the music being discussed at best - at worst, those terms often serve as code words for what is in fact a cultural / political discussion more than a musical one.

I met Gary (Burton) at the Wichita Jazz Festival when I was 18 -- he was one of my favorite musicians and I got to play a few tunes with him there. Shortly after that, I joined his band, which was the equivalent of joining the Beatles for me! He was, and still is, one of the greatest musicians I have ever been lucky enough to be around.

The first thing I learned was the theme from Peter Gunn.

I was able to work with the best musicians in Kansas City starting when I was really young

Somehow trumpet is the reference point for me it was actually my first instrument.

Jazz demands that you bring to it things that are valuable to you, that are personal to you.

My first relationship to any kind of musical situation is as a listener.

The more I can learn about music, the more I learn about other things.