Saxophone is one thing, and music is another.

Quote by Steve Lacy

Topics: Steve Lacy Quotes

There is an awful lot of what I call recreational jazz going on, where people...

There is an awful lot of what I call recreational jazz going on, where people...

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....

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,...

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

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

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...

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...

Nobody was playing the soprano saxophone and certainly nobody was trying to do anything with...

Nobody was playing the soprano saxophone and certainly nobody was trying to do anything with...

Jazz is people's music, a collectivity.

Jazz is people's music, a collectivity.

You have to sound sad first of all, then maybe later you can sound good.

You have to sound sad first of all, then maybe later you can sound good.

You must have the music to justify an instrument's extensive use.

You must have the music to justify an instrument's extensive use.

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...

I've performed solo for 20 years now, but I don't do much of it, because...

I've performed solo for 20 years now, but I don't do much of it, because...

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.

You can work on the saxophone alone, but ultimately you must perform with others.

You can work on the saxophone alone, but ultimately you must perform with others.

I was spoiled by Monk's music because it was so good, so complete.

I was spoiled by Monk's music because it was so good, so complete.

The soprano turned out to sound to me like the right hand on the piano.

The soprano turned out to sound to me like the right hand on the piano.

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

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

Some people really want to play Mozart and be just performers. I was more interested...

Some people really want to play Mozart and be just performers. I was more interested...

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...

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.