51 Quotes by Lee Konitz

I'd like to feel that whatever I play is a result of whatever I've heard.

It's very demanding to make up your own music.

Most jazz players work out their solos, at least to the extent that they have a very specific vocabulary.

Out of Coltrane's whole history, there are things which I think are great from all the periods.

We all learn from each other, and I never really hung out with guys in that way, so I missed out.

Bernstein grew up in my building in New York. He's a very, very fine player. When he was a kid, he came by to find out what was going on in the world of jazz.

I just completed a tour in Europe. I played every night. This requires traveling some days for six hours in a van or a train or a car. After six weeks of that, I checked into the hotel and just fell apart.

Labels don't mean anything to me. I'm trying to play as passionately as I'm able to. If they want to call that cool, that's fine. Just spell the name right, is the formula.

One of the most interesting recordings I ever heard was hearing Tristano and Charlie Parker playing together. They were both at their peak.