Charlie Byrd

“I never thought of myself as strictly a jazz musician... I'm a musician who plays jazz, and a lot of other things.”

“The nylon-string guitar has a warmth and intimacy that you can't get from a steel-string.”

“You never stop learning. The day you think you know it all is the day you should hang it up.”

“I just try to play music that I love and is meaningful to me.”

“Music has to have emotion, otherwise it's just an exercise.”

“You have to listen more than you play.”

“It’s a finger-style guitar, and I’m a finger-style guitarist. I’ve never used a pick in my life.”

“Bossa nova was a new music to us, a new feeling, a new everything.”

“Improvisation is composing on the spot.”

“I wanted to bring the nylon string guitar into the jazz world.”