I am not afraid of European influences. The point is to use them, as Ellington did, as part of my life as an American Negro. Cecil Taylor More Quotes by Cecil Taylor More Quotes From Cecil Taylor They say, 'We will give you money, but we want you to play this or that.' And I always thought, 'If I'm going to do that, I might as well go back and be a dishwasher.' Cecil Taylor willthoughtyoumoney I've always tried to be a poet more than anything else. I mean, professional musicians die. Cecil Taylor musiciansprofessionaldiealways You know what the material is so that you never play it the same way twice. Cecil Taylor neverknowyouway Find one note on the instrument that pleases you, and then find another note that also pleases you. Cecil Taylor instrumentthenfindyou Lena Horne - when she walked onstage, she really was Erzulie. Cecil Taylor onstagewalkedreallyshe Before he fought Billy Conn, Joe Louis said, 'He can run, but he can't hide.' That's how I feel about New York: You can run from it, but you can't hide. Cecil Taylor hidenewfeelyou The emphasis in each piece is on building a whole, totally integrated structure. In doing this, we try to carry on - in ensemble as well as solo sections - the mood of a jazz soloist. I mean that principle of kinetic improvisation that keeps a jazz solo building. Cecil Taylor doingtrybuildingmood Someone once asked me if I was gay. I said, 'Do you think a three-letter word defines the complexity of my humanity?' I avoid the trap of easy definition. Cecil Taylor meyougayhumanity When you think about musicians who are reading music, my contention has always been the energy that you're using deciphering what the symbol is is taking away from the maximum creative energy that you might have had if you understood that it's but a symbol. Cecil Taylor thinkyoumusicreading What I am doing is creating a language. A different American language. Cecil Taylor americani-amdoinglanguage
