‘I can hear music that elevates me, but on the other
hand there’s martial music that’s made to make people go to war. So music is
neutral. It has nothing to do with ethics. Music is not on the same level as
trying to understand life. We’re here for 80-something years. One lifetime is
not enough to get it right. I’ll be back in another body. I’m not interested in
trying to get that technical about that because I don’t need to know. What I
need to know is that being a person who understands that giving is better than
getting is the proper way to live. Live your life now in a positive way. Help
people if you can. Don’t hurt people. That works perfectly for me, man.”—Retired
jazz saxophone master Sonny Rollins quoted in David Marchese, “Sonny Rollins,
on Whether Great Musicians Make Good People,” The New York Times Magazine, Mar. 1, 2020
(Photo of Sonny Rollins taken July 17, 2009, by Bengt
Nyman from Vaxholm, Sweden.)
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