Miles Davis

If you’re trying to be hip, be hip!

I can tell whether a person can play just by the way he stands.

I’ll play it first and tell you what it is later.

[On Louis Armstrong] You can’t play nothing on modern trumpet that doesn’t come from him, not even modern shit. I can’t even remember a time when he sounded bad playing the trumpet. Never. Not even one time. He had great feeling up in his playing and he always played on the beat. I just loved the way he played and sang.

Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.

The thing to judge in any jazz artist is, does the man project and does he have ideas.

There’s so much music out there and so many possibilities. I like anyone who plays any instrument.

If music is sound and came from silence, then silence is potentially greater than sound.

Miles’ sessions were not typical of anybody else’s sessions. They were totally unique.

The only award I’ve ever worked for or wanted really were the ones that were given to me by the fans. So, whether it’s a platinum record or hit songs, those are the ones that last the most.

Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.

Keep searching for that sound you hear in your head until it becomes a reality.

After the music is over it’s gone in the air. You can never capture it again.

A musician starting out today should get a great teacher and learn all there is to know about the instrument.

My version of Georgia became the state song of Georgia. That was a big thing for me, man. It really touched me. Here is a state that used to lynch people like me suddenly declaring my version of a song as its state song. That is touching.

I did go through a trial-and-error period where I tried out lots of different guitars, but within a couple of years I was right back to the Les Paul. From that point it’s stayed with me ever since. I have other guitars—and I love a lot of them—but I’m most at home on a Les Paul. It’s interesting: most of the time I would even rather make a Les Paul do the things those other guitars do. From the get-go, the Les Paul spoke to me.

To get the music the way you want it, there’s a lot of work involved.

True music must repeat the thought and inspirations of the people and the time. My people are Americans and my time is today.

Improvisation is the ability to create something very spiritual, something of one’s own.

Audiences are smart. They are not going to come out to see you unless you are honest.

Jazz is a white term to define black people. My music is black classical music.