Not my own, but have guided me immensely:
"Two musicians coming together to play a piece of music has to be interesting, even if the results are not in themselves a great piece of music. The way they find to work with each each other say something about music....Even if it's not working in completed music terms, the process is one of the most interesting listening experiences you can get." - Derek Bailey
"Here we are: Kagel, 'Improvisation Ajoutée.' I bought this when I was about 15. Still marked: got it at Sam Goody in September, for 98 cents. And it's a really crazy piece, with the guys screaming and hooting, something that attracted me. I was over at my friend's house, and he really liked the Rolling Stones. And I just got this record, and I put it on and he looked at me like... who the hell are you? Are you out of your mind? And his mother was there, and she was like [puts palm on cheek] my God, take this off... and right then and there, I decided: this was the music." - John Zorn