Sydney Bechet

1897-1959

"You gotta mean it and you gotta treat it gentle."

George Lewis

1900-1968

"I am inclined to just write music, and not worry about what people can and can’t do."

Edmond Hall

1901-1967

"When I got inside, it was a revelation."

Pee Wee Russell

1906-1969

"I learned one thing: how to get where you're going on time."

Benny Goodman

1909-1986

"After you've done all the work and prepared as much as you can, what the hell, you might as well go out and have a good time.."

Artie Shaw

1910-2004

"The good old days are neither better nor worse than the ones we're living through right now."

Jimmy Hamilton

1917-1994

"Can't help swinging."

Woody Herman

1913-1987

"Musically, the bebop route was magnificent. But business-wise, it was the dumbest thing i ever did."

Jimmy Giuffre

1921-2008

"It’s just one way, and every man must go his own way."

Buddy DeFranco

1923-2014

"When you're playing jazz, you have to somehow overcome that feeling of being intimidated because your aim is to portray that freedom in what you're playing.."

Eric Dolphy

1928-1964

"When you hear music, after it's over, it's gone in the air. You can never capture it again.."

Pete Fountain

1930-2016

"I was improvising before I was reading music. I was just trying to play things on the clarinet by ear. I think my ear is one of my greatest assets.."

Eddie Daniels

1941

"I don't want to talk too much before you hear the music."

Paquito D'Rivera

1948

"Music, was in my soul and in my heart. I never had the idea to do anything else."

Ken Peplowski

1959

"Jazz amounts to Blues, your unique sound and the elusive genius of improvisation."

Doreen Ketchens

1966

"We can play what we want, we can control who comes into the band and who goes out of the band. People hear us from all over the world and call us and they want us to come and play for them."

Victor Goines

1961

"Music is so powerful, how can you not be influenced by it?."