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.
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?
Same with anyone who's been flying for years and loves it still... we're part of a world we deeply love. Just as musicians feel about scores and melodies, dancers about the steps and flow of music, so we're one with the principle of flight, the magic of being aloft in the wind!
There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope.
For all our failings, despite our limitations and fallibilities, we humans are capable of greatness.
If you think you aren't valid for whatever reason, let my existence and the way the world embraces my existence tell you that you are valid. You deserve to look, live, and walk through the world however you see fit. That's why I find it extremely important to be so out, so black, and so myself.
I'm not a supermodel. That's not what I do. What I do is music. I want my fans to feel the way I do, to know what they have to offer is just as important, more important, than what's happening on the outside.
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