--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never thought Jazz was meant to be a…" description: "\"I never thought Jazz was meant to be a museum piece like other dead things once considered artistic.\" — Miles Davis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdd/miles-davis-1842_art_i-never-thought-jazz-was-meant-to-be-a-m_777234.jpg" --- # I never thought Jazz was meant to be a museum piece like… ![“I never thought Jazz was meant to be a museum piece like other dead things once considered artistic.” quote by Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdd/miles-davis-1842_art_i-never-thought-jazz-was-meant-to-be-a-m_777234.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdd/miles-davis-1842_art_i-never-thought-jazz-was-meant-to-be-a-m_777234.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdd/miles-davis-1842_art_i-never-thought-jazz-was-meant-to-be-a-m_777234.jpg) > “I never thought Jazz was meant to be a museum piece like other dead things once considered artistic.” [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Jazz should be lived, not locked in museums; it evolves like any art form. **In simple terms:** Jazz must stay alive. Key Takeaway Engage with contemporary jazz. Themes art tradition innovation Mood reflective inspirational Type musical cultural When to use this quote - music education - concert attendance - archival policy Key Concepts cultural heritage creative evolution Questions to Reflect On - How can we honor tradition while innovating? - What role do museums play in living art? A Different Perspective Risk of losing historical context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Artistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/artistic/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Museums](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/museums/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [I never thought that the music called "jazz" was ever meant to reach just a small group of people, or become a museum thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-never-thought-that-the-music-called-jazz-was-ever-meant-to-reach/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [We are serious about our music here in Philadelphia, and jazz has meant a lot to this city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nutter/we-are-serious-about-our-music-here-in-philadelphia-and-jazz-has/) [Michael Nutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nutter/) > [I cringed when I heard myself described as a Jazz singer. I've always thought of myself as a Jazz vocalist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-wilson/i-cringed-when-i-heard-myself-described-as-a-jazz-singer-i-ve-always/) [Cassandra Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-wilson/) > [I've often cringed when I heard myself described as a jazz singer. I've always thought of myself as a jazz vocalist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-wilson/i-ve-often-cringed-when-i-heard-myself-described-as-a-jazz-singer-i/) [Cassandra Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-wilson/) > [I'm enamored with the art world. Anytime you look at anything that's considered artistic, there's a commercial world around it: the ballet, opera, any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/i-m-enamored-with-the-art-world-anytime-you-look-at-anything-that-s/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I love making music, but I also love making music that's on the radio. In some circles, that is considered less artistic. And I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristian-bush/i-love-making-music-but-i-also-love-making-music-that-s-on-the-radio/) [Kristian Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristian-bush/) > [Anytime you look at anything that's considered artistic, there's a commercial world around it: the ballet, opera, any kind of music. It can't exist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/anytime-you-look-at-anything-that-s-considered-artistic-there-s-a/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I think with my hands. I design things to be touched-not for a museum. A piece is ready when it has the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-zeisel/i-think-with-my-hands-i-design-things-to-be-touched-not-for-a-museum/) [Eva Zeisel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-zeisel/) > [“To visit a museum is fine, to be a museum piece is terrible! - Gioconda and Si-Ya-U ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naz-m-hikmet/to-visit-a-museum-is-fine-to-be-a-museum-piece-is-terrible-gioconda/) [Nâzım Hikmet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naz-m-hikmet/) > [“In the king’s bed is always found, just before it becomes a museum piece, the droppings of the black sheep.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathanael-west/in-the-king-s-bed-is-always-found-just-before-it-becomes-a-museum/) [Nathanael West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathanael-west/) > [We console ourselves with the comfortable fallacy that a single museum piece will do, ignoring the clear dictum of history that a species must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/we-console-ourselves-with-the-comfortable-fallacy-that-a-single/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [I think that you can treat a classic like a museum piece -stuffed and mounted- or you can make it a living, breathing narrative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jackson/i-think-that-you-can-treat-a-classic-like-a-museum-piece-stuffed-and/) [Peter Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jackson/) > [A product is not a product unless it sells. Otherwise it is merely a museum piece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-levitt/a-product-is-not-a-product-unless-it-sells-otherwise-it-is-merely-a/) [Theodore Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-levitt/) > [Everybody has a calling. And your real job in life is to figure out as soon as possible what that is, who you were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/everybody-has-a-calling-and-your-real-job-in-life-is-to-figure-out-as/) [Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/) > [There's the gift, there's the spirit, and there's the work-all three have to come together. If one of those things is off, it can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/there-s-the-gift-there-s-the-spirit-and-there-s-the-work-all-three/) [Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/) ## More by Miles Davis > [I usually write from the rhythm section...If a drummer got a funky beat on some things - like a half-shuffle or a shuffle or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-usually-write-from-the-rhythm-section-if-a-drummer-got-a-funky-beat/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [Look, man, all I am is a trumpet player.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/look-man-all-i-am-is-a-trumpet-player/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [You have to practice for a long time before you can learn to sound like yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/you-have-to-practice-for-a-long-time-before-you-can-learn-to-sound/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [There are no wrong notes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/there-are-no-wrong-notes/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [Knowledge is freedom and ignorance is slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/knowledge-is-freedom-and-ignorance-is-slavery/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [I began to realize that some of the things Ornette Coleman had said about things being played three or fours ways, independently of each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-began-to-realize-that-some-of-the-things-ornette-coleman-had-said/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [...people will go for anything they don't understand if it's got enough hype. They want to be hip, want always to be in on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/people-will-go-for-anything-they-don-t-understand-if-it-s-got-enough/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [If you're trying to be hip, be hip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/if-you-re-trying-to-be-hip-be-hip/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [My father's rich, my momma's good looking. Right? And I can play the Blues. I've never suffered and don't intend to suffer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/my-father-s-rich-my-momma-s-good-looking-right-and-i-can-play-the/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [I'm out there doing the best that I can, My lip is cut and I'm still playing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-m-out-there-doing-the-best-that-i-can-my-lip-is-cut-and-i-m-still/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [When I'm playing, I'm never through. It's unfinished. I like to find a place to leave for someone else to finish it. That's where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/when-i-m-playing-i-m-never-through-it-s-unfinished-i-like-to-find-a/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [ \[Prince\] could very well be the Duke Ellington of Rock 'n' Roll. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/prince-could-very-well-be-the-duke-ellington-of-rock-n-roll/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [I can tell whether a person can play just by the way he stands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-can-tell-whether-a-person-can-play-just-by-the-way-he-stands/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [Do not fear mistakes. There are none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/do-not-fear-mistakes-there-are-none/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [You can't compete with Sweets' sound and time feel. It's impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/you-can-t-compete-with-sweets-sound-and-time-feel-it-s-impossible/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) [Explore all 204 Miles Davis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I never thought Jazz was meant to be a museum piece like other dead things once considered artistic.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Miles Davis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-never-thought-jazz-was-meant-to-be-a-museum-piece-like-other-dead/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-never-thought-jazz-was-meant-to-be-a-museum-piece-like-other-dead/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdd/miles-davis-1842_art_i-never-thought-jazz-was-meant-to-be-a-m_777234.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdd/miles-davis-1842_art_i-never-thought-jazz-was-meant-to-be-a-m_777234.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cdd/miles-davis-1842_art_i-never-thought-jazz-was-meant-to-be-a-m_777234.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I never thought Jazz was meant to be a museum piece like other dead things once considered artistic.” — Miles Davis", "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": "Miles Davis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I never thought Jazz was meant...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-never-thought-jazz-was-meant-to-be-a-museum-piece-like-other-dead/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-never-thought-jazz-was-meant-to-be-a-museum-piece-like-other-dead/#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 } } ] } ```