Cecil Taylor

“The piano is a percussion instrument. You have to be able to caress it and you have to be able to punch it.”

“Improvisation is the ability to talk to oneself.”

“Art is the way we beautify space, music is the way we beautify time.”

“Rhythm is life. The space of time danced through.”

“The magic of sound is that it puts you right in the center of it. It's not an intellectual process.”

“If a man is not a myth, he is not a man.”

“The emphasis is on the creation of a whole new world.”

“You are your own leader. You are your own master. You are your own guru. You are your own disciple.”

“What I'm trying to do is create a different architectural reality.”

“Each man is his own academy.”

“Technique is a weapon to do whatever you want to do.”

“The first thing you have to do is to create your own language.”

“Music is the sound of the body's celebration.”

“Tradition is not a prison. It's a guide.”

“The physical reality of the piano is not all that different from the physical reality of a drum.”