The artist must say it without saying it.
DUKE ELLINGTONDancing 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.
More Duke Ellington Quotes
-
-
There is no art without intention.
DUKE ELLINGTON -
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 -
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 ELLINGTON -
Love is indescribable and unconditional. I could tell you a thousand things that it is not, but not one that it is. Either you have it or you haven’t; there’s no proof of it.
DUKE ELLINGTON -
Playing ‘bop’ is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing.
DUKE ELLINGTON -
Love is supreme and unconditional; like is nice but limited.
DUKE ELLINGTON -
I’m sure critics have their purpose, and they’re supposed to do what they do, but sometimes they get a little carried away with what they think someone should have done, rather than concerning themselves with what he did.
DUKE ELLINGTON -
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!
DUKE ELLINGTON -
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?
DUKE ELLINGTON -
It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.
DUKE ELLINGTON -
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.
DUKE ELLINGTON -
There is no art when one does something without intention.
DUKE ELLINGTON -
A musical profit outweighs a financial loss.
DUKE ELLINGTON -
Create, and be true to yourself, and depend only on your own good taste.
DUKE ELLINGTON -
Sing sweet, but put a little dirt in it.
DUKE ELLINGTON