#music

If you're going to use standards as criteria for signing musicians, you can sign thousands. If you're going to use some sort of conceptual interpretation that's based on the tradition of those standards, but is trying to move away from it, you're down to about 10 people or so. ↗

— Branford Marsalis

#away #based #conceptual #criteria #down

If you listen to a lot of the songs that are popular now, there's very little melody in there. People love the beat. But to musicians, it's melody, because we understand how elusive it is and how hard it is to hold. ↗

— Branford Marsalis

#because #elusive #hard #hold #how

My dad was a musician, it was just what he did, like another guy's dad drives a meat truck. Our house was normal. We weren't taken with the fact our dad was a musician. ↗

— Branford Marsalis

#dad #did #drives #fact #guy

One of the things that I loved about listening to Miles Davis is that Miles always had an instinct for which musicians were great for what situations. He could always pick a band, and that was the thing that separated him from everybody else. ↗

— Branford Marsalis

#always #band #could #davis #else

One of the things that's clear to me from interviews that I've read is that the more popular successful jazz musicians had audiences above and beyond the music community. ↗

— Branford Marsalis

#audiences #beyond #clear #community #had

The biggest problem with American music right now, is that kids don't listen. They come by it honestly, Americans don't listen anyway. When people go to concerts, they say I'm going to see... not, I'm going to hear. ↗

— Branford Marsalis

#american music #anyway #biggest #biggest problem #come

The lion's share of what I hear right now are people who, intentional or accidental, have avoided all jazz prior to 1960. And all the musicians who were successful in the '60s spent their entire lives, prior to 1960, listening to all the musicians these people avoid. ↗

— Branford Marsalis

#avoid #avoided #entire #entire lives #hear

The piano is the X factor. People have a tough time following the structures when there's no piano there, spelling it out. It makes it more easily understood, particularly to people who don't know as much about music. ↗

— Branford Marsalis

#easily #factor #following #know #makes

There's a certain kind of motion and pacing that our music has, and this just doesn't have that. We just kind of rushed to the conclusion of most of the songs. I just would've preferred to done them over. ↗

— Branford Marsalis

#conclusion #done #i #just #kind

I dress up a certain way because I respect the music. ↗

— Wynton Marsalis

#certain #certain way #dress #i #music