"Don't play the saxophone. Let it play you."
"Any musician who says he is playing better either on tea, the needle, or when he is juiced, is a plain, straight liar. When I get too much to drink, I can't even finger well, let alone play decent ideas. You can miss the most important years of your life, the years of possible creation."
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Source: Hear Me Talkin' to Ya: The Story of Jazz As Told by the Men Who Made It. Book edited by by Nat Shapiro and Nat Hentoff, p. 379, 1955.
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More quotes by Charlie Parker
"Master your instrument. Master the music. And then forget all that bullshit and just play."
"Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art."
"You've got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail."
"Once I could play what I heard inside me, that's when I was born."
"Don't be afraid, just play the music."