“The first record I made, when I listen to it, I understand. I understa...” — Cecil Taylor Quote

The first record I made, when I listen to it, I understand. I understand perfectly well why certain musicians were unhappy with me. I had to decide: was I unhappy with me? I liked it. If they didn't like it, it was on them.

I've always tried to be a poet more than anything else. I mean, professional musicians die.

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.'

I understand about the relative strengths of people, and I don't think people have to be anything. They can be nothin' if they want to be.

Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell, no!

No one has the license to decide someone's fate.

Employers, like most people, tend to trust their intuitions. But when employers decide whom to hire, they trust those intuitions far more than they should.

Some people say that they read the first 20 pages, and then decide if they want to do the film or not. But, I have to read the entire thing 'cause anything can change in a script.

I believe that music is about making quality things, making quality art, and no matter who you decide to work with, you and that person have to come up with something special, come up with something that is excellent material, so whoever hears it and reviews it will like it.