I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.
DUKE ELLINGTONMusic is my mistress and she plays second fiddle to no one.
More Duke Ellington Quotes
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A musical profit outweighs a financial loss.
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There are two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind.
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It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.
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You’ve got to find a way of saying it without saying it.
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Music is the tonal reflection of beauty.
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My biggest kick in music -playing or writing- is when I have a problem. Without a problem to solve, how much interest do you take in anything?
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Problems are chances for us to do our best.
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Love is supreme and unconditional; like is nice but limited.
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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.
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New music? Hell, there’s been no new music since Stravinsky.
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Yet, every time God’s children have thrown away fear in pursuit of honesty-trying to communicate themselves, understood or not, miracles have happened.
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The wise musicians are those who play what they can master.
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I like any and all of my associations with music: writing, playing, and listening. We write and play from our perspective, and the audience listens from its perspective. If and when we agree, I am lucky.
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Selfishness can be a virtue. Selfishness is essential to survival, and without survival we cannot protect those whom we love more than ourselves.
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I fluffed off the guy who kept requesting tunes all night, then found out he was the King’s son.
DUKE ELLINGTON