Sing sweet, but put a little dirt in it.
DUKE ELLINGTONThere is no art when one does something without intention.
More Duke Ellington Quotes
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Without a deadline, baby, I wouldn’t do nothing.
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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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Music is the tonal reflection of beauty.
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Be a number one yourself. And not a number two somebody else.
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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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A problem is a chance for you to do your best.
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New music? Hell, there’s been no new music since Stravinsky.
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There are 2 rules in life: Number 1- Never quit. Number2- Never forget rule number 1.
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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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Now I can say loudly and openly what I have been saying to myself on my knees.
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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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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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Everyone prays in their own language, and there is no language that God does not understand.
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It’s like an act of murder – you play with intent to commit something.
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On becoming more acquainted with the word of the Bible, I began to understand so much more of what I had been taught, and of what I had learned about life and about the people in mine.
DUKE ELLINGTON