Charlie Parker

"The stage is my church, and music is my prayer."

"I don't want to be remembered for what I played. I want to be remembered for how I played."

"Music is the only democracy that truly exists."

"The notes fade away, but the feeling lasts forever."

"I play because the silence would be unbearable."

"Every musician has a unique voice. The question is whether they have the courage to use it."

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

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

"They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art."

"You can play a melody simple or with note changes, but play a melody pure."

"The memory of things gone is important to us here on earth."

"Rhythm is something you either have or don't have, but when you have it, you have it all over."

"Real music should make you forget all your troubles."

"I want to play everything I hear."

"Man, sometimes it snows in April."

"Do your own thing and do it well."

"All music is folk music. I have never heard a horse sing."

"The word 'jazz' has been the title of my chopped suey, a kind of English for all incorrectness."

"Find the purpose in all things, and you'll find music everywhere."

"Forget everything you know and begin fresh every day."

"The beauty of jazz is in its freedom and spontaneity."

"Learn the songs of the masters before you try to create your own."

"Play what you feel, not what the paper tells you."

"Every note matters when it comes from the heart."

"A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself."

"I've always tried to move in the direction of infinity."

"Work steadily and build your foundation before you try to touch the sky."

"The world doesn't owe you anything but an opportunity to play."

"Study everything, but trust your ears above all else."

"Time is the greatest teacher, but it will kill you eventually."