Appreciation Quote by Duke Ellington

New music? Hell, there's been no new music since Stravinsky.

— Duke Ellington

Jazz today, as always in the past, is a matter of thoughtful creation, not mere unaided instinct.

— Duke Ellington

The most important thing I look for in a musician is whether he knows how to listen.

— Duke Ellington

Music is my mistress and she plays second fiddle to no one.

— Duke Ellington

The common root, of course, comes out of Africa. That's the pulse.The African pulse. It's all the way back from . . . the…

— Duke Ellington

Love is supreme and unconditional; like is nice but limited.

— Duke Ellington

The problem of expressing the contributions that Benny Carter has made to popular music is so tremendous it completely fazes me, so extraordinary a…

— Duke Ellington

If anybody was Mr. Jazz it was Louis Armstrong. He was the epitome of jazz and always will be. He is what I call…

— Duke Ellington

Jazz is a good barometer of freedom.

— Duke Ellington

I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.

— Duke Ellington

The artist must say it without saying it.

— Duke Ellington

Problems are chances for us to do our best.

— Duke Ellington