46 Quincy Jones Quotes for You to Enjoy

Quincy Jones

American Musician

Born: Mar 14, 1933

Good Me Music People World You

I got in the school band and the school choir. It all hit me like a ton of bricks, everything just came out. I played percussion for a while, and stayed after school forever just tinkering around with different things, the clarinets and the violins. Quincy Jones

Me School Band Everything Out Stayed Percussion Like Around Got Came Forever Hit Tinkering Just Different After After-School While Choir Bricks Different Things Things Ton Played

After every war, there was a significant change in the music, and I can understand how that happened. If you participate in protecting the country, you think you can be part of it, but you come back home and it's worse than ever. Quincy Jones

When I was 14, I was a passenger in a terrible accident. Quincy Jones

Accident Terrible Passenger

Seattle is like a global gumbo, a melting pot with all kinds of people - the rich, the poor, white people, some Chinese, Filipino, Jewish and black people - they're all here. Quincy Jones

People Black Rich White Melting Melting Pot Kinds Some Pot Like Global Chinese Poor Filipino Seattle Here Jewish

I found this out over the years, that racism is a thinly veiled disguise over economics and money. It really is. Quincy Jones

Racism Money Disguise Economics Out Over Years Really Found Thinly

I was the most subtle person in the world. Quincy Jones

World Most Person Subtle

Just blow in it and sound bad for about a year and then make it sound a little bit better, and you get a little band together, and then you get a few jobs. You take four guys that sound half bad, but if they're 25 percent each, they can give 100 percent, you know? Quincy Jones

You Together Better Half Year Band Few Bit Jobs Bad About About A Year Percent Give Guys Take Know Make Sound Get Blow Just Little Little Bit Then Each Four

When I was 14, I would sit up in my room and write till my eyes would bleed. Quincy Jones

Eyes Sit Would Write Bleed Till Up Room

It's easy to get next to music theory, especially between your peers and music classes and so forth. You just pay attention. I had a good ear, so I realized that printed music was just about reminding you what to play. Quincy Jones

I'm a great believer in letting lyrics just flow out, wherever they come from. Quincy Jones

Great Great Believer Lyrics Out Come Just Wherever Believer Letting Flow

If architecture is frozen music then music must be liquid architecture. Quincy Jones

Music Architecture Must Liquid Frozen Then

I didn't understand key signatures or anything, you know. I'd say silly things at the top of a trumpet part like, 'Note, when you play B naturals, make the B naturals a half step lower because they sound funny if they're B naturals.' And some guy said: 'Idiot, just put a flat on the third line and it's a key signature, you know?' Quincy Jones

Funny You Key Half Idiot Top Say Signature Some Silly Silly Things Guy Part Step Put Like Know Make Because Understand Said Sound Line Trumpet Just Anything Flat Note Lower Play Things Third

I was inspired by a lot of people when I was young. Every band that came through town, to the theater, or the dance hall. I was at every dance, every night club, listened to every band that came through, because in those days we didn't have MTV, we didn't have television. Quincy Jones

We got into all the trouble you could ever imagine. We figured that if the Jones boys and all the gangsters ran Chicago, we had our own territory now. All the stores, all the crime, we were in charge of everything, my stepbrother and my brother. Quincy Jones