97 Quotes by John Coltrane

I'm into scales right now.

Working with Monk brought me close to a musical architect of the highest order. I felt I learned from him in every way--through the senses, theoretically, technically. I would talk to Monk about musical problems, and he would sit at the piano and show me the answers just by playing them. I could watch him play and find out the things I wanted to know. Also, I could see a lot of things that I didn't know about at all.

When you begin to see the possibilities of music, you desire to do something really good for people.

Keep a thing happenin' all throughout.

There are so many things to be considered in making music. The whole question of life itself... I know that I want to produce beautiful music, music that does things to people that they need.

...That is one of the main causes of this arrogance: the idea of power. Then you lose your true power which is to be part of all, and the only way you can be part of all is to understand it. And when you don't understand, you have to go humbly to it. You don't go to school and say, 'I know what you're going to teach me'.

The main thing a musician would like to do is to give a picture to the listener of the many wonderful things he knows of and senses in the universe.

Don't ever get so big or important that you can not hear and listen to every other person.

Damn the rules, it's the feeling that counts.