Ella Fitzgerald

Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.

It isn’t where you came from, its where you’re going that counts.

It isn’t where you came from, it’s where you’re going that counts.

The fabulous places I’ve been, wonderful things that’ve happened, great people I’ve met ought to make a story.

I sing like I feel.

I’m very shy, and I shy away from people. But the moment I hit the stage, it’s a different feeling I get nerve from somewhere; maybe it’s because it’s something I love to do.

Jazz is something you have to feel, something you have to live.

Music is the greatest communication in the world.

Let your life be your music and let your music be your life.

It’s very difficult for me to dislike an artist. No matter what he’s creating, the fact that he’s experiencing the joy of creation makes me feel like we’re in a brotherhood of some kind… we’re in it together.

Your sound is you and what you really feel inside.

Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.

The high note is not the only thing.

Music happens to be an art form that transcends language.

Jazz is such a powerful cultural statement that it’s almost as if it’s intertwined with society.

Music to me is like breathing. I don’t get tired of breathing, I don’t get tired of music.

I don’t dig staying in one groove.

If I could sell 500 million records every time, it would be great. But I’ve also had the luxury experience of having it when I was a teenager, in a very kind of model version of it.

Jazz has the ability to absorb and transform influences from diverse musical styles.

I’m no good with chords. I’m horrible with chords.

I don’t meditate before I play or compose, but I see playing and composing as meditative acts.