I was inspired by a lot of people when I was young, every band that came through town, to the theater, or the dance hall. I was at every dance, every night club, listened to every band that came through, because in those days we didn't have MTV, we didn't have television.
Interpretation
Quincy Jones reflects on how his early experiences with music and performances inspired his career.
In this quote, Quincy Jones expresses the profound influence that live music and performances had on him during his youth. He recalls his dedication to attending every event possible in a time before the prevalence of television and music videos. This experience not only shaped his love for music but also fueled his aspirations to become a musician himself. The quote highlights the importance of exposure to creativity and the impact it can have on one's future pursuits.
In practice
This quote is perfect for a speech about the impact of live music on young artists.
Just blow in it and sound bad for about a year and then make it sound a little bit better, and you get a little band together, and then you get a few jobs. You take four guys that sound half bad, but if they're 25 percent each, they can give 100 percent, you know?
Music in movies is all about dissonance and consonance, tension and release.
When you produce an album, you're dealing with it theatrically. It has to have a structure, and the inner response to that is that the ear loves it.
You can study orchestration, you can study harmony and theory and everything else, but melodies come straight from God.
I got a scholarship to Seattle University and I was writing arrangements for singers and everybody. But the music course was too dry and I really wanted to get away from home.
I tell my kids and I tell proteges, always have humility when you create and grace when you succeed, because it's not about you. You are a terminal for a higher power. As soon as you accept that, you can do it forever.
If you want to move people, it has to be toward a vision that's positive for _x000D_ _x000D_ them, that taps important values, that gets them something they desire and _x000D_ _x000D_ it has to be presented in a compelling way so that they feel inspired to _x000D_ _x000D_ follow.
I'm not going to throw my imagination away. I refuse to lie down to expectation. If I can just hold out till I'm thirty, I'll be incredible.
I resolved that, like the sun, as long as my day lasted, I would look on the bright side of everything.
If it's true that I wouldn't have had a career if it weren't for these conversations about diversity, the importance of representation, then I need to continue to fight that battle for the people that come after me.
We can still see God in other people and do our best to help them find their own grace. So that’s what I strive to do and pray to do every day.
In this world you've a soul for a compass_x000D_ _x000D_ And a heart for a pair of wings_x000D_ _x000D_ There's a star on the far horizon_x000D_ _x000D_ Rising bright in an azure sky_x000D_ _x000D_ For the rest of the time that you're given_x000D_ _x000D_ Why walk when you can fly?
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