“To me, the piano in itself is an orchestra.” — Cecil Taylor Quote

To me, the piano in itself is an orchestra.

When I came out of the conservatory, the first thing I did was to go see Thelonious Monk.

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.'

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.

If you take the creation of music and the creation of your own life values as your overall goal, then living becomes a musical process.

I love working with an orchestra, but there are many ways to make music.

When facing symphonic orchestras which have played some works five thousands times, you have nothing to do.

I recorded the song live in front of an orchestra, and yes, I was very moved, I was in tears.

Pardon me for loitering in front of an orchestra.

We had a normal childhood. I played baseball, and we played violin in orchestras three times a week. I learned more from that than anything else.