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When jazz is played in another nation, it is called American. When it is played in another country, it sounds false. Jazz is the result of the energy stored up in America.

— George Gershwin The Composer in the Machine Age (1933)

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More quotes by George Gershwin

My people are American, my time is today…music must repeat the thought and aspirations of the times.

An entire composition written in jazz could not live.

The Composer in the Machine Age (1933)

I like to think of music as an emotional science.

The Composer in the Machine Age (1933)

Not many composers have ideas. Far more of them know how to use strange instruments which do not require ideas.

The Composer in the Machine Age (1933)

The European boys have small ideas but they sure know how to dress 'em up.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: George Gershwin (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.