Charlie Parker

"Don't play the saxophone. Let it play you."

"Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom."

"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn."

"You can play a shoestring if you're sincere."

"The real key to being a great jazz musician is the ability to listen."

"Quit playing those ridiculous tricks and start playing music."

"Be yourself, don't imitate nobody."

"Master your instrument. Master the music. Master yourself."

"Charlie Parker was just a little boy when he discovered the saxophone."

"There's no such thing as a wrong note if you bend it the right way."

"You've got to learn your instrument. Then forget about it and just play."

"Music should be happy and sad at the same time."

"Sometimes I think I can't understand the art of these young musicians."

"The way to learn music is to play music."

"I've learned that every creature on this earth has a purpose."

"Everything happens for a reason."

"Practice is essential to excellence."

"You can practice all day long, but if you don't know what you're doing, it's just noise."

"I've always known that music is something special."

"Jazz is restless. It won't stay put and it won't shut up."

"There is nothing more than running. That is the real art."

"The musician who doesn't listen is lost."

"I want to be something else when I grow up besides a musician."

"Studying music teaches you how to learn anything."

"The way of the warrior is to master the art of using the sword."

"All good music has life in it."

"You've got to practice discipline, but it's the discipline to allow yourself to grow."

"I loved the way you moved the first time that I saw you."

"Real musicians get to a point where they transcend technique."

"I play what I feel."