Herbie Mann Quotes

Being stubborn has helped, being selfish is not a bad thing.

I recently formed a foundation to raise awareness for prostate cancer. I feel it's very necessary that men be more aware about prostate cancer and their health in general.

My father's father came from Russia; my mother came from Romania.

You don't have to live the blues to play the blues.

Being selfish to me means that you have to look out for yourself and you don't have to sacrifice.

I had sat in one day in Central Park with Bonnie and Delaney, and Duane was playing with them, so I asked if he wanted to work on an album. You never had to say to him how to play the guitar.

When you get cancer, it's like really time to look at what your life was and is, and I decided that everything I've done so far is not as important as what I'm going to do now.

My youngest son, who is now the drummer in my band, lives in Brooklyn. My oldest son is about to move out to California, and my daughters are both out of town.

If you're in jazz and more than ten people like you, you're labeled commercial.

I was raised in Brooklyn, and I lived there for 59 years.

For me Brazilian music is the perfect mix of melody and rhythm. It just bubbles rhythmically. If I had to pick just one music style to play if would be Brazilian.

My ego is controlled enough that I don't have to be the focus.

If you keep your head in the sand, you don't know where the kick's coming from.

One of the advantages of not having a record contract is that you can make your own mistakes, you don't need somebody else to organize them for you.

If you want to play somebody's music, you'd better go into his house.

To most jazz critics I was basically Kenny G.

Why do you have to retire at 65? Why can't you start at 70? You know, like wine. Why can't music be that way? My new band, we're playing stuff that's never been done before.

You have to be concerned with yourself because if you're not on it all the time, nobody else is going to be.

What I try to do is produce an atmosphere where musicians want to invest in what they do and give to the recording. I hire those musicians who I know will play something creative and interesting.

The music we're playing now is based on my heritage, which is Russian, Romanian and Hungarian.

Music allows the great opportunity to play with people you love.