John Zorn

“Information is not knowledge. Knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is not truth. Truth is not beauty. Beauty is not love. Love is not music. Music is THE BEST.”

“I want to make a music that is not a reflection of me, but a reflection of the world.”

“To be an artist is to be in a constant state of becoming.”

“I’m interested in the edge, the place where things are about to fall apart.”

“Composition is a way of organizing sound, but it's also a way of organizing your life.”

“There are a zillion different kinds of music in the world. I love 'em all.”

“I'm not interested in being a 'star'. I'm interested in being a musician.”

“I think the downtown scene is a state of mind. It’s not a location.”

“I work hard. I'm a workaholic. It's what I do.”

“The only tradition I have is the tradition of the new.”

“You have to be a little bit of a masochist to be a musician.”

“For me, klezmer is not a style of music. It's a way of life.”

“The best music is made by people who are not afraid to be themselves.”

“My music is about putting things together that don't belong together and making them work.”

“There's no such thing as a mistake, really. It's just an opportunity to do something else.”