People don't want to suffer. They want to sound good immediately, and this is one of the biggest problems in the world.

Quote by Steve Lacy

Topics: Steve Lacy Quotes

Before the work comes to you, you have to invent work.

Before the work comes to you, you have to invent work.

When I came up, it was all about originality and collective research. There is an...

When I came up, it was all about originality and collective research. There is an...

I still love the whole history of jazz. The old things sound better than ever.

I still love the whole history of jazz. The old things sound better than ever.

They call me before they go into production, when they have a prototype, and they...

They call me before they go into production, when they have a prototype, and they...

I've always been extremely lucky in playing with great people who knew much more than...

I've always been extremely lucky in playing with great people who knew much more than...

It starts with a single sound. If there's something in that sound, then it's worth...

It starts with a single sound. If there's something in that sound, then it's worth...

Jazz is people's music, a collectivity.

Jazz is people's music, a collectivity.

Register is very important. Music sounds best in a certain register.

Register is very important. Music sounds best in a certain register.

What I learned with Cecil Taylor was strategy and survival and how to resist temptations...

What I learned with Cecil Taylor was strategy and survival and how to resist temptations...

Play difficult and interesting things. If you play boring things, you risk losing your appetite....

Play difficult and interesting things. If you play boring things, you risk losing your appetite....

We played for peanuts. But we did what we wanted to do, we heard what...

We played for peanuts. But we did what we wanted to do, we heard what...

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

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

The soprano has all those other instruments in it. It's got the soprano song voice,...

The soprano has all those other instruments in it. It's got the soprano song voice,...

The potential for the saxophone is unlimited.

The potential for the saxophone is unlimited.

If you listen to Louis Armstrong from 1929, you will never hear anything better than...

If you listen to Louis Armstrong from 1929, you will never hear anything better than...

Bamboo is not a weed, it's a flowering plant. Bamboo is a magnificent plant.

Bamboo is not a weed, it's a flowering plant. Bamboo is a magnificent plant.

I heard Sidney Bechet play a Duke Ellington piece and fell in love with the...

I heard Sidney Bechet play a Duke Ellington piece and fell in love with the...

The saxophone is a very interesting machine, but I'm more interested in music.

The saxophone is a very interesting machine, but I'm more interested in music.

If you have music you want to play that no one asks you to play,...

If you have music you want to play that no one asks you to play,...

Jazz is like wine. When it is new, it is only for the experts, but...

Jazz is like wine. When it is new, it is only for the experts, but...