Creativity Quote by Roy Ayers

Ayers is defending a familiar kind of perfectionism, but he does it with a sly flex: the casual reach for Leonardo da Vinci isn`t just name-dropping, it`s a way of reframing fussiness as lineage. In one breath he makes sensitivity and technical rigor sound less like diva behavior and more like the basic job description of anyone serious about craft. The line works because it insists that what looks like overthinking from the outside is, internally, an ethical stance: the artist is obligated to hear problems other people can`t hear yet.

The subtext is also a quiet pushback against the audience-and-industry demand for constant accessibility. Ayers implies there`s a gap between how art lands and how it`s made. Listeners may fall in love with the groove, the vibe, the warmth; the maker is stuck inside the machinery of decisions, haunted by micro-flaws, alternate takes, the version that almost existed. When he says artists "don`t always feel the same as others feel", he`s naming the asymmetry that comes with authorship: the crowd experiences the finished myth, the artist remembers the messy draft.

Contextually, it maps onto Ayers` whole legacy in jazz-funk and soul, genres often treated as effortless feel. He reminds you that "feel" is engineered. Sensitivity isn`t just emotion; it`s discernment. Technical isn`t cold; it`s the discipline that lets joy survive repetition, touring, deadlines, and taste-making. He`s asking for permission to be exacting, and daring you to call that self-indulgence.