27 Charlie Haden Quotes for You to Enjoy

Charlie Haden

American Musician

Born: Aug 6, 1937

About Jazz Me Music People You

Related authors: Bob Dylan Dolly Parton Frank Sinatra Juice Wrld Kanye West Lil Peep Nipsey Hussle YoungBoy Never Broke Again

The bass, no matter what kind of music you're playing, it just enhances the sound and makes everything sound more beautiful and full. When the bass stops, the bottom kind of drops out of everything. Charlie Haden

Beautiful Music You Matter Bass Everything Out Kind More Bottom Drops Makes Sound Just Stops Full Enhances Playing

I have music inside me and I'm very lucky to be able to play music and that's the way that I try to do it. Charlie Haden

Music Me Try Way Inside Able Very Lucky Play Play Music

I don't sing now, because I had polio when I was 15, bulbar polio. This was when the epidemic was happening. And I was lucky that it didn't affect my lungs or my legs. It went to my face and kind of paralyzed my vocal chords, and I wasn't able to sing. And they said I was very lucky that I would get over it, which I did. Charlie Haden

Face Kind Would Paralyzed Able Vocal Had Over Over It Sing Polio Because Said Affect Very Get Did Legs Happening Which Epidemic Chords Lucky Now Lungs

Some tracks are with quartet and some tracks are with synthesizer. Charlie Haden

Synthesizer Some Tracks Quartet

I listened to classical music. I listened to jazz. I listened to everything. And I started becoming interested in the sounds of jazz. And I went to a concert of Jazz at the Philharmonic when we lived in Omaha, Nebraska, and I saw Charlie Parker play and Billie Holiday sing and Lester Young play, and that did it. I said, 'That's what I want to do.' Charlie Haden

Music Young Jazz Philharmonic Everything Saw Charlie Classical Charlie Parker Classical Music Parker Sing Concert Said Becoming Sounds Did Listened Want Holiday Interested Billie Holiday Lester Lived Play Nebraska Started Omaha

That's what I tell my students at California Institute of the Arts where I taught for 27 years. I taught them if you strive to be a good person, maybe you might become a great jazz musician. Charlie Haden

I want them to come away with discovering the music inside them. And not thinking about themselves as jazz musicians, but thinking about themselves as good human beings, striving to be a great person and maybe they'll become a great musician. Charlie Haden

Music Good Great Musicians Become Jazz Thinking Musician Striving Inside About Great Person Come Discovering Person Human Maybe Want Human Beings Them Themselves Jazz Musicians Beings Away Good Human

When we first started playing we did a lot of rehearsing. We used to write out everything. In fact, that's the way everybody rehearses: we play the tunes and improvise. Charlie Haden

First Improvise Everybody Everything Way Out Fact Write Lot Did In Fact Tunes Used Rehearsing Play Started Playing

I just sit down at the piano and rattle it off. Charlie Haden

Sit Down Rattle Piano Off Just

I always told the people at Cal Arts that if they wanted me to do Jazz studies, first of all, there couldn't be a big band within 500 miles and that I could do what I wanted to do. And they said I could. Charlie Haden

Me People First Big Band Jazz Could Studies Cal First Of All Big Band Within Said Always Arts Wanted Miles

I have a very clear picture of what I want to do and what I feel is important as far as my contribution or my appreciation and respect for this life that we're living, and to try to make it better. I can't feel that I'm making it better playing commercial music, and I never could, and I never will. Charlie Haden

Life Music Appreciation Respect Better Try Will Picture Important Living Could Never Clear Feel Make Making Very Commercial Contribution Want As Far As Far Playing

I always felt that I was born in the wrong era. I wanted to be friends with John Garfield, for instance. Charlie Haden

John Born Instance Wrong Felt Always Era Friends Wanted Garfield

I wish I could've been friends with Charlie Parker and played with him. That's my period. I feel real close to the '40s - and actually, I was born in '37, so I was a kid singing on the radio in the '40s. But I always dreamed of going to big cities. Charlie Haden

Wish Singing Big Kid Cities Dreamed Born Charlie Charlie Parker Parker Feel Period Him Always Big Cities Real Been Friends Close Going Radio Actually Played

My parents were on the Grand Ole Opry. They traveled all over the country singing hillbilly music. That's what they called it back then. They were friends with Roy Acuff and the Delmore Brothers and the Carter Family. And all of my brothers and sisters who were older than me started on the show, after they were big enough to hold a guitar and sing. Charlie Haden

Music Family Me Guitar Parents Country Hillbilly Singing Big Older Enough Back Carter Brothers Brothers And Sisters Over Sing Big Enough Were Opry Friends Than Sisters Hold After Grand Then Show Who Traveled Ole Roy Started

I can write a song about my hero Che Guevara and call it 'Song for Che.' Charlie Haden

Song Hero About Write Call

You can't be at your full creative power if you are sedated. Charlie Haden

You Creative Power Your Full

I grew up around guitar players. Charlie Haden

Guitar Guitar Players Around Up Grew Players

When I was four, we moved to a farm outside Springfield, Missouri. We had a radio show from that farmhouse. My dad always wanted a farm. We used to go out and milk the cows every morning and then do a radio show with a remote control from our living room. We'd start by singing 'Keep On The Sunny Side.' Charlie Haden

Morning Singing Control Farm Living Every Side Our Out Sunny Outside Had Remote Missouri Always Go Cows Moved Wanted Room Then Used Show Radio Dad Keep Milk Four Living Room Start

I never heard anything so brilliant in my life as I did that first time I heard Ornette. He played like some revolutionary angel. Soon, we were rehearsing in his place, music scattered everywhere, and he was telling me to play outside the chord changes, which was exactly what I had been wanting to do. Now I had permission. Charlie Haden

Life Music Time Me Brilliant Angel My Life First Changes Everywhere Telling Exactly Exactly What Some Scattered Outside Never Had He Soon Like First Time Permission Were Been His Heard Revolutionary Did Wanting Anything Place Which Chord Rehearsing Now Play Played

I'm always searching. It's the reason I'm here. It's not really about music: it's about searching for meaning. Charlie Haden

Music About Always Meaning Really Reason Searching Here

I had to learn right away how to improvise behind Ornette, which not only meant following him from one key to another and recognizing the different keys, but modulating in a way that the keys flowed in and out of each other, and the new harmonies sounded right. Charlie Haden

Key Improvise Other Harmonies Keys Way Out Recognizing Following Only Had New Him Learn Another How Behind Different Which Meant Each Away Right Right Away

My family influenced me very deeply because my dad came from a musical background, from the hillbilly music part of it, and all that music came over from Scotland and Ireland and England in to the Appalachian Mountains and Ozark Mountains, where I was raised. Charlie Haden

There's enough dismemberment going on in the world without writing music about it. Charlie Haden

Music Writing World Enough About Without Going

Charlie Haden Quotes

No more Charlie Haden quotes