Quotes About Diversity

As a Latin musician, I understand that there are so many places where people don't know who I am. My albums never came out in Australia or Japan.

With cab drivers, I always say I'm from Brazil. I don't say I'm from Israel. It's happened more than once that someone is blaming me for the government's policy. And I say, 'Listen, I live here. I'm a musician. I don't call the shots.'

I just want to grow as a musician. that's why I do different languages.

Any saxophone player will have those influences come through in their music in a very different way. I can listen to the same 10 sax players as someone else for my entire life, and we'll both play completely differently. That's the beauty of being a musician.

There's no rule that you have to like Henry Rollins the musician or the actor.

I became a professional musician and played all kinds of music. I played bluegrass, I played classical music, and for many years, I played jazz.

Musicians tend to get bored playing the same thing over and over, so I think it's natural to experiment.

I woud definitely want to collaborate with Indian musicians.

There are only so many letters in the alphabet. When I talk to young musicians or authors and they ask for advice, I say, 'You gotta learn all the letters of your own personal alphabet. With music, you need to know all the different kinds of music and everything in and around your given instrument.'

Working with Benny was important for me and for black musicians in general.

I would love to do a serious period drama. Oh, absolutely. I mean, you'll find most comedians want to do more serious stuff, most musicians want to be comedians, and most serious actors want to be musicians.

I'd been watching documentaries about early rock where white artists took 'race records' from blues and soul musicians to achieve mass appeal. I wanted to flip that and do an EP covering only white artists.

Lots of musicians from non-filmi backgrounds and from independent bands are making it to mainstream cinema. Even the music directors are experimenting with different genres.

I've had so many different influences musically, even from people who aren't even musicians. If you're inspired by someone and you document it musically, then they are your influence.

Being from Israel and a Jew is complex already, but with France, there is a freedom and a mix of culture. I have met musicians from all over the world.

For most artists, you take what you have and who you are, and then you expand on it to make it more entertaining. Everyone knows actors aren't the same people that they play in movies, but people somehow expect musicians to be a certain way all the time!

Being a musician - and I like to think of myself as a musician with a capital M - you need to be an omnivore, and I think the best musicians will listen to anything and love everything, and I do.

When I'm not working, I don't mix with actors, really. I have about two or three friends from theater school, and we call each other and meet. But in the main, no. I'm more happy with musicians or horse riders or sailors.

In music, the Specials brought a city, Coventry, bombed out for a second time and riven with racism, to a celebration between black and white musicians and their music.

There are incredible musicians around the world.

I'm big fans of all those musicians, B.B. King, Mick Jagger - they're all on my iPod.

I want musicians to be looked at as people that are not just doing one thing.

I have Muslim members of my family. I have lived in Muslim countries.

I am a proud, British-born Muslim, and I love my country more than any other place on earth.