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.
DUKE ELLINGTONIf anybody was Mr. Jazz it was Louis Armstrong. He was the epitome of jazz and always will be. He is what I call an American standard, an American original.
More Duke Ellington Quotes
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Music is the tonal reflection of beauty.
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Now I can say loudly and openly what I have been saying to myself on my knees.
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Music is my mistress and she plays second fiddle to no one.
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Jazz is a good barometer of freedom.
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Everybody in Canada seemed to listen to what they enjoyed, and nobody could tell them what to like, or what was the popular, or what was the In thing. Even today, it is very hard to brainwash a Canadian.
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Simplicity is a most complex form.
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Problems are chances for us to do our best.
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Be a number one yourself. And not a number two somebody else.
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Of the One O’Clock Lab Band after hearing their performance, and sitting in with them at the White House: “I wish it were mine”.
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The most important thing I look for in a musician is whether he knows how to listen.
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Gray skies are just clouds passing over.
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People do not retire. They are retired by others.
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If you have a great band with a mediocre drummer, you have a mediocre band. If you have a mediocre band with a great drummer, you have a great band!
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Dancing is very important to people who play music with a beat. I think that people who don’t dance, or who never did dance, don’t really understand the beat. I know musicians who don’t and never did dance, and they have difficulty communicating.
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If it sounds good and feels good, then it IS good!
DUKE ELLINGTON






