Duke Ellington

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

I never had much interest in the piano until I realized that every time I played, a girl would appear on the piano bench to my left and another to my right.

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

There is no art without intention.

Playing ‘bop’ is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing.

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

You gotta love livin’, baby, ’cause dyin’ is a pain in the ass.

Actually, I think the more Ben [Taylor] sings, the less like James he sounds.

I heard Mr. Wild Bill Davis. I heard him play in 1930 and he told me that it would take me fifteen years just to learn the pedals, the pedals of the organ and I got mad.

By its very nature, no one person can ever be the center of Jazz.

It doesn’t have to be happy music to be inspiring.

It’s taken me all my life to learn what not to play.

Do it again on the next verse and people think you meant it.

The first time I heard Bird play, it hit me right between the eyes.

Your accompanist has a lot to do with how you sing, so experiment and choose your partner wisely.

Live music is best! Make plans to get out and support your local Jazz scene.

The people who really got me off were dealing with the musical potential of their instrument.

Count don’t do nothin’. But it sure sounds good.

Jazz? has no boundaries.

I’m now a legend, whether I want to be or not.

I kept thinking there’s bound to be something else? I could hear it sometimes, but I couldn’t play it.