--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It takes an intelligent ear to listen to…" description: "\"It takes an intelligent ear to listen to Jazz.\" — Art Blakey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/art-blakey-28913_ears_it-takes-an-intelligent-ear-to-listen-to_1457140.png" --- # It takes an intelligent ear to listen to Jazz. ![“It takes an intelligent ear to listen to Jazz.” quote by Art Blakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/art-blakey-28913_ears_it-takes-an-intelligent-ear-to-listen-to_1457140.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/art-blakey-28913_ears_it-takes-an-intelligent-ear-to-listen-to_1457140.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/art-blakey-28913_ears_it-takes-an-intelligent-ear-to-listen-to_1457140.png) > “It takes an intelligent ear to listen to Jazz.” [Art Blakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-blakey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding jazz requires an attentive, knowledgeable ear to appreciate its complexity. **In simple terms:** Listening to jazz needs a keen ear. Key Takeaway Develop active listening for jazz. Themes music listening culture Mood appreciative inspired Type musical educational When to use this quote - concert attendance - music education - personal practice Key Concepts improvisation musical theory Questions to Reflect On - What elements of jazz intrigue you most? - How can you train your ear for improvisation? A Different Perspective Complexity may be intimidating for beginners. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ear Listen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ear-listen-1186003/) [Ears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ears/) [Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent/) [Intelligent Ear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intelligent-ear-5255292/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Jazz music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz-music/) [Listen Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listen-jazz-704129/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Takes Intelligent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/takes-intelligent-5255293/) ## Related quotes > [The music I like best is kind of frozen in my mind from the Sixties and Seventies. I still listen to the same jazz…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/the-music-i-like-best-is-kind-of-frozen-in-my-mind-from-the-sixties/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [Everytime I listen jazz music I think , this is how LOVE should sound](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laylablack/everytime-i-listen-jazz-music-i-think-this-is-how-love-should-sound/) [Laylablack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laylablack/) > [Sometime people don't really need someone to give them advice but am ear that will listen and shoulder to cry on will suffice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-rala/sometime-people-don-t-really-need-someone-to-give-them-advice-but-am/) [Joy Rala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-rala/) > [“Love flows down. The ground submits to the sky and suffers what comes. Is the ground worse for giving in like that? Do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/love-flows-down-the-ground-submits-to-the-sky-and-suffers-what-comes/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Let the inner ear listen to the voice of truth that is always speaking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/let-the-inner-ear-listen-to-the-voice-of-truth-that-is-always-speaking/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [“If you haven't developed an ear to listen past the unspoken, you haven't developed hearing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-you-haven-t-developed-an-ear-to-listen-past-the-unspoken-you-haven/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“A wise man uses one ear to listen, the other to hear himself think.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-tegerdine/a-wise-man-uses-one-ear-to-listen-the-other-to-hear-himself-think/) [Colin Tegerdine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-tegerdine/) > [Sometimes, all we need is a hand to hold, an ear to listen and a heart to understand us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-mark/sometimes-all-we-need-is-a-hand-to-hold-an-ear-to-listen-and-a-heart/) [Terry Mark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-mark/) > [“Rhythm. Life is full of it; words should have it, too. But you have to train your ear. Listen to the waves on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-gordon/rhythm-life-is-full-of-it-words-should-have-it-too-but-you-have-to/) [Arthur Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-gordon/) > [Many people are looking for an ear that will listen. They do not find it among Christians because we are talking when we should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/many-people-are-looking-for-an-ear-that-will-listen-they-do-not-find/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [That.s what Jazz music is all about.We started the Messengers because somebody had to mind the store for jazz.No America--no Jazz. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/that-s-what-jazz-music-is-all-about-we-started-the-messengers-because/) [Art Blakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-blakey/) > [Jazz washes away the dust of every day life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/jazz-washes-away-the-dust-of-every-day-life/) [Art Blakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-blakey/) > [I think people psych themselves out before they listen to jazz a lot, thinking that they have to, like, put on a suit or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamasi-washington/i-think-people-psych-themselves-out-before-they-listen-to-jazz-a-lot/) [Kamasi Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamasi-washington/) > [If your parents only listen to jazz or folk, you're like one of those trees you see in botanic gardens that have wire frames…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/if-your-parents-only-listen-to-jazz-or-folk-you-re-like-one-of-those/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) > [I listen to jazz mainly. Mainstream jazz.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kareem-abdul-jabbar/i-listen-to-jazz-mainly-mainstream-jazz/) [Kareem Abdul-Jabbar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kareem-abdul-jabbar/) ## More by Art Blakey > [They say that Jazz is back, and I don't think it's gone anywhere. But they say it's back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/they-say-that-jazz-is-back-and-i-don-t-think-it-s-gone-anywhere-but/) [Art Blakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-blakey/) > [Music is supposed to wash away the dust of everyday life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/music-is-supposed-to-wash-away-the-dust-of-everyday-life/) [Art Blakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-blakey/) > [There's nothing wrong with it. It's only a word. What's in a name? Nothing! Cats say, "Call me Muhammed so-and-so. "](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/there-s-nothing-wrong-with-it-it-s-only-a-word-what-s-in-a-name/) [Art Blakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-blakey/) > [Jazz washes away the dust of every day life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/jazz-washes-away-the-dust-of-every-day-life/) [Art Blakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-blakey/) > [If you feel like tapping your feet, tap your feet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/if-you-feel-like-tapping-your-feet-tap-your-feet/) [Art Blakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-blakey/) > [Jazz is known all over the world as an American musical art form and that's it. No America, no jazz. I've seen people try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/jazz-is-known-all-over-the-world-as-an-american-musical-art-form-and/) [Art Blakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-blakey/) > [Music washes away the dust of every day life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/music-washes-away-the-dust-of-every-day-life/) [Art Blakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-blakey/) > [ The people know more about \[Jazz\] in other countries than in America. America is the last country to know about anything, because we're too… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/the-people-know-more-about-jazz-in-other-countries-than-in-america/) [Art Blakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-blakey/) > [That.s what Jazz music is all about.We started the Messengers because somebody had to mind the store for jazz.No America--no Jazz. It is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/that-s-what-jazz-music-is-all-about-we-started-the-messengers-because/) [Art Blakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-blakey/) > [You can't seperate modern jazz from rock or from rhythm and blues - you can't seperate it. Because that's where it all started, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/you-can-t-seperate-modern-jazz-from-rock-or-from-rhythm-and-blues-you/) [Art Blakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-blakey/) > [“Jazz washes away the dust of everyday life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/jazz-washes-away-the-dust-of-everyday-life/) [Art Blakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-blakey/) > [Jazz, I mean, music will always move, because it can't become stagnant. Because if it becomes stagnant, it's like a river, it'll kill us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/jazz-i-mean-music-will-always-move-because-it-can-t-become-stagnant/) [Art Blakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-blakey/) > [So go on and play, and if you make a mistake, make it loud so you won't make it next time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/so-go-on-and-play-and-if-you-make-a-mistake-make-it-loud-so-you-won-t/) [Art Blakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-blakey/) > [A name doesn't make the music. It's just called that to differentiate it from other types of music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/a-name-doesn-t-make-the-music-it-s-just-called-that-to-differentiate/) [Art Blakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-blakey/) > [What ever truth drops on it eventually grinds to a powder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/what-ever-truth-drops-on-it-eventually-grinds-to-a-powder/) [Art Blakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-blakey/) [Explore all 19 Art Blakey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-blakey/) ## More Ears quotes > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [I am convinced that we will never build a democratic state based on rule of law if we do not at the same time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaclav-havel/i-am-convinced-that-we-will-never-build-a-democratic-state-based-on/) [Vaclav Havel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaclav-havel/) > [Story is about pulling the reader in and a plot is a more externalized mechanism of revelation. A plot is more antic, more performative,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/story-is-about-pulling-the-reader-in-and-a-plot-is-a-more/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [Somehow the river is louder when you cover your ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/somehow-the-river-is-louder-when-you-cover-your-ears/) [Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/) > [I started off playing by ear, and being around a bunch of musicians and playing in the streets and in the different parades and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/troy-andrews/i-started-off-playing-by-ear-and-being-around-a-bunch-of-musicians/) [Troy Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/troy-andrews/) > [Well the first time I performed, my mom was like how she is now when sees me on stage – all red, smiling from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-brown/well-the-first-time-i-performed-my-mom-was-like-how-she-is-now-when/) [Chris Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-brown/) > [Men trust rather to their eyes than to their ears; the effect of precepts is therefore slow and tedious, whilst that of examples is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/men-trust-rather-to-their-eyes-than-to-their-ears-the-effect-of/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Words are substance strange. Speak one and the air ripples into another's ears. Write one and the eye laps it up. But the sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-beachy-quick/words-are-substance-strange-speak-one-and-the-air-ripples-into/) [Dan Beachy-Quick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-beachy-quick/) > [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Seek ye counsel of the aged for their eyes have looked on the faces of the years and their ears have hardened to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khalil-gibran/seek-ye-counsel-of-the-aged-for-their-eyes-have-looked-on-the-faces/) [Khalil Gibran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khalil-gibran/) > [The more that you act on your intuition fearlessly, the more your intuition will serve you. Intuition is the ear of the soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/the-more-that-you-act-on-your-intuition-fearlessly-the-more-your/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [it'll be this kind of deep blue”she said. “The kind of color that somehow sucks your eyes and your ears and all your words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/it-ll-be-this-kind-of-deep-blue-she-said-the-kind-of-color-that/) [Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/) > [Flat muscled and honey coloured. Sea secrets in his eyes. A silver raindrop in his ear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arundhati-roy/flat-muscled-and-honey-coloured-sea-secrets-in-his-eyes-a-silver/) [Arundhati Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arundhati-roy/) [Browse all 2,987 Ears quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ears/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It takes an intelligent ear to listen to Jazz.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Art Blakey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/it-takes-an-intelligent-ear-to-listen-to-jazz/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ears" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/it-takes-an-intelligent-ear-to-listen-to-jazz/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/art-blakey-28913_ears_it-takes-an-intelligent-ear-to-listen-to_1457140.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/art-blakey-28913_ears_it-takes-an-intelligent-ear-to-listen-to_1457140.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dd7/art-blakey-28913_ears_it-takes-an-intelligent-ear-to-listen-to_1457140.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It takes an intelligent ear to listen to Jazz.” — Art Blakey", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Art Blakey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-blakey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It takes an intelligent ear to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/it-takes-an-intelligent-ear-to-listen-to-jazz/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-blakey/it-takes-an-intelligent-ear-to-listen-to-jazz/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```