Duke Ellington Quotes

76 quotes in 820 categories

• I began by tinkering around with some old tunes I knew. Then, just to try something different, I set to putting some music to the…
• Without a deadline, baby, I wouldn't do nothing.
• If anybody was Mr. Jazz it was Louis Armstrong. He was the epitome of jazz and always will be. He is what I call an…
• If anybody was Mr. Jazz it was Louis Armstrong. He was the epitome of jazz and always will be. He is what I call an…
• I don't need time, I need a deadline.
• Music is the tonal reflection of beauty.
• Art is dangerous. It is one of the attractions: when it ceases to be dangerous, you don't want it.
• I don't need time. What I need is a deadline!
• The word [jazz] never lost its association with those New Orleans bordellos. In the 1920s I used to try to convince Fletcher Henderson that we…
• There is no art when one does something without intention.
• I like any and all of my associations with music -writing, playing, and listening. We write and play from our perspective, and the audience listens…
• Self-discipline, as a virtue or an acquired asset, can be invaluable to anyone.
• There is hardly any money interest in art, and music will be there when money is gone.
• My biggest kick in music -playing or writing- is when I have a problem. Without a problem to solve, how much interest do you take…
• In music, as you develop a theme or musical idea, there are many points at which directions must be decided, and at any time I…
• How can anyone expect to be understood unless he presents his thoughts with complete honesty? This situation is unfair because it asks too much of…
• Every man prays in his own language.
• On becoming more acquainted with the word of the Bible, I began to understand so much more of what I had been taught, and of…
• Jazz is a good barometer of freedom.
• I fluffed off the guy who kept requesting tunes all night, then found out he was the King's son.

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