Bebop didn’t have the humanity of Duke Ellington. It didn’t even have that recognizable thing. Bird and Diz were great, fantastic, challenging – but they weren’t sweet.
MILES DAVISI’ll play it first and figure out what it’s called later.
More Miles Davis Quotes
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If you hit a wrong note, it’s the next note that you play that determines if it’s good or bad.
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I’ve always told the musicians in my band to play what they know and then play above that. Because then anything can happen, and that’s where great art and music happens.
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I never thought Jazz was meant to be a museum piece like other dead things once considered artistic.
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Knowledge is freedom and ignorance is slavery.
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I know what I’ve done for music, but don’t call me a legend. Just call me Miles Davis.
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I think the greatest sound in the world is the human voice.
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For me, music and life are all about style.
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If somebody told me I only had an hour to live, I’d spend it choking a white man. I’d do it nice and slow.
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I can’t write anything for myself. I can write when I hear like [John] Coltrane play something; I used to write chords and stuff for him to play in one bar. I can write for other people, but I don’t never write for myself.
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Don’t be afraid of mistakes – There are none.
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You can’t compete with Sweets’ sound and time feel. It’s impossible.
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I’m not messing around with nobody’s woman. If I want a woman I go get her – you know what I mean?
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If you sacrifice your art because of some woman, or some man, or for some color, or for some wealth, you can’t be trusted.
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Some day I’m gonna call me up on the phone, so when I answer, I can tell myself to shut up.
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If you’re going to drop behind, you have to keep it there.
MILES DAVIS