New York is a place where the rich walk, the poor drive Cadillacs, and beggars die of malnutrition with thousands of dollars hidden in their mattresses.
DUKE ELLINGTONArt is dangerous. It is one of the attractions: when it ceases to be dangerous, you don’t want it.
More Duke Ellington Quotes
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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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I don’t need time, I need a deadline.
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You have to stop listening in categories. The music is either good or it’s bad.
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Music is the tonal reflection of beauty.
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A problem is a chance for you to do your best.
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Jazz today, as always in the past, is a matter of thoughtful creation, not mere unaided instinct.
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New music? Hell, there’s been no new music since Stravinsky.
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Somehow I suspect that if Shakespeare were alive today, he might be a jazz fan himself.
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A musical profit outweighs a financial loss.
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There is no art when one does something without intention.
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People do not retire. They are retired by others.
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Create, and be true to yourself, and depend only on your own good taste.
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By and large, jazz has always been like the kind of a man you wouldn’t want your daughter to associate with.
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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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There are two kinds of worries – those you can do something about and those you can’t. Don’t spend any time on the latter.
DUKE ELLINGTON