Dukes Quote by Steve Lacy

My father was a huge jazz fan, so I remember him playing Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughn, and Count Basie.

— Brian Stokes Mitchell

My aunt Ruth Brown was a jazz musician. I got hooked on it at a young age, understanding what John Coltrane was doing playing…

— Rakim

A few years later, my Uncle David took me to the Earle Theatre to hear Duke Ellington.

— David Amram

Do you think Duke Ellington didn't listen to Debussy? Louis Armstrong loved opera, did you know that? Name me a jazz pianist who wasn't…

— Dave Brubeck

As far as other instrumentalists, I used to love mellow sax players like Paul Desmond. I love piano.

— Boz Scaggs

I loved playing the saxophone.

— GRiZ

It's great to hear someone really care for the soprano saxophone.

— Rufus Reid

I wouldn't know absolutely everything I've been influenced by, but the first jazz I heard was Duke Ellington.

— Melody Gardot

I got one of the best sax players in the business - Arno Hecht. He plays with the Uptown Horns and all the great…

— Dion DiMucci

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

Karl Johnson, my first piano player at Milt Trenier's, he just swung really hard and gave me a sense of really belonging to the…

— Kurt Elling

Duke Ellington was famous for hs very original harmonic patterns.

— Lawrence Welk