Wayne Shorter Quotes

• The arts can open the door to the imagination, pushing the envelope of how peace can be created. It takes courage to take this kind of risk, and courage is what we all need to create a better world.

  Wayne Shorter

  Art, Creativity, Doors

  51 Copy quote

• Jazz shouldn't have any mandates. Jazz is not supposed to be something that's required to sound like jazz. For me, the word 'jazz' means, 'I dare you.'

  Wayne Shorter

  Mean, Sound, Jazz

  "Wayne Shorter On Jazz: 'How Do You Rehearse The Unknown?'". "All Things Considered" with Laura Sullivan, www.npr.org. February 2, 2013.

  55 Copy quote

• Your humanity is your instrument.

  Wayne Shorter

  Humanity, Instruments

  Twitter post from Jun 7, 2017

  31 Copy quote

• If all you have is music, then you don't have music

  Wayne Shorter

  Musician, Ifs

  55 Copy quote

• No one really knows how to deal with the unexpected. How do you rehearse the unknown?

  Wayne Shorter

  Unexpected, Deals, Know How

  "Wayne Shorter On Jazz: 'How Do You Rehearse The Unknown?'". "All Things Considered " with Laura Sullivan, www.npr.org. February 2, 2013.

  38 Copy quote

• Go out on the stage as a human being and do not be afraid to show struggle in your music. It's a struggle in life and then struggle and then victory.

  Wayne Shorter

  Struggle, Victory, Stage

  Source: www.pbs.org

  42 Copy quote

• Play and write music the way you want the world to be.

  Wayne Shorter

  Writing, Play, World

  25 Copy quote

• To hell with the rules. I'm going for the unknown.

  Wayne Shorter

  Music, Jazz, Hell

  Twitter post from Nov 15, 2010

  28 Copy quote

• Composing is improvisation slowed down.

  Wayne Shorter

  Music, Jazz, Composing

  37 Copy quote

• Music is interior decoration.

  Wayne Shorter

  Music, Jazz, Decoration

  48 Copy quote

• Dealing with the unknown, the unexpected, is a reflection for me musically of what's happening in the world, because people are learning how to dialog with each other without any past strategy or any kind of formula from the past.

  Wayne Shorter

  Reflection, Past, People

  Source: www.pbs.org

  38 Copy quote

• I always think of music as interior decoration. So, if you have all kinds of music, you are fully decorated!

  Wayne Shorter

  Music, Thinking, Jazz

  39 Copy quote

• Clouds float in the same pattern only once.

  Wayne Shorter

  Music, Clouds, Patterns

  Twitter post from May 15, 2017

  22 Copy quote

• You know the actor John Garfield? In one movie he walked up to this train station, the ticket booth, and the guy says, 'Yes, where are you going?' And he says, 'I want a ticket to nowhere.' I thought: that's it. The freedom to do that. I want a ticket to nowhere.

  Wayne Shorter

  Music, Guy, Actors

  22 Copy quote

• You're like the girl who left her shadow in the drawer, but when she went to get it, it wasn't there.

  Wayne Shorter

  Girl, Shadow, Drawers

  Twitter post from Apr 05, 2011

  34 Copy quote

• I'm learning more about life when I'm playing too, and writing music. I'm learning more about life, the connection.

  Wayne Shorter

  Writing, Connections, Writing Music

  Source: www.pbs.org

  16 Copy quote

• A series of vibrations. What does it matter, the source of the catalyst?

  Wayne Shorter

  Doe, Matter, Vibrations

  11 Copy quote

• It’s making a statement about what life is, really. And I’m going to end the line with it.

  Wayne Shorter

  Lines, Life Is, Ends

  9 Copy quote

• In an inconspicuous way, Gretchen Parlato knows
  how to play the same instrument that Frank Sinatra played.
  There's no one out there like Gretchen.

  Wayne Shorter

  Play, Way, Instruments

  11 Copy quote

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