Duke Ellington

It is becoming increasingly difficult to decide where jazz starts or where it stops, where Tin Pan Alley begins and jazz ends, or even where the borderline lies between classical music and jazz. I feel there is no boundary line.

Life has two rules: 1. Never quite 2. Always remember 1.

By and large Jazz has always been like the kind of a man you wouldn’t want your daughter to associate with.

Music, of course, is what I hear and something that I more or less live by. It’s not an occupation or profession, it’s a compulsion.

It’s like an act of murder; you play with intent to commit something.

There are two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind.

It is unquestionably true that the need for art is not created by economic conditions. But neither is the need for food created by economics. On the contrary, the need for food and warmth creates economics.

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.

Art is not a thing; it is a way.

Life is tough and if you’re creative, it’s tougher.

The arts are at the center of a nation’s purpose and a test of civilization.

MoMA is doubling its space, and I decided to raise the money for it.

The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.

Nothing will stop you from being creative so effectively as the fear of making a mistake.

A museum has to renew its collection to be alive, but that does not mean we give on important old works.

One of the things about creativity is you can be in denial about these things. When I found out I had cancer, there were four hours in which I was pounding my head on the marble kitchen top saying, “I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it.” But then I felt as if this little army in uniform was flooding me. They had come to help me fight it. I felt really strong about it after that. It was one of the strongest periods of my life.

I’m just an individual who doesn’t feel that I need to have somebody qualify my work in any particular way. I’m working for me.

Good art will speak to you if you give it a chance.

Great art is never produced for its own sake. It is too difficult to be worth the effort.

They decided to establish a museum of modern art where works by contemporary artists would be shown. Mother was viewed as a very progressive person, and not everybody liked the paintings she bought.

People with talent are not interested in showing off behind another person.