black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

The most important thing I look for in a musician is whether he knows how to listen.

Duke Ellington

The wise musicians are those who play what they can master.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Knowledge Master Musician
There are 2 rules in life: Number 1- Never quit. Number2- Never forget rule number 1.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Forget Inspirational Life Rule
Be a number one yourself. And not a number two somebody else.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Be Yourself Effort Hard Work Inspirational Self Love
Create, and be true to yourself, and depend only on your own good taste.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Creation Goodness Taste True
There are two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Goodness Kind Music
It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Meaning Yourself
I don’t need time, I need a deadline.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Limitation Myself Time
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

Beginning Learning People Teaching Understand Word
Every man prays in his own language.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Himself Language Man Prayer
If 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.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Epitome Music Original Standard
There is nothing to keeping a band together. You simply have to have a gimmick, and the gimmick I use is to pay them money!
DUKE ELLINGTON

Money Myself Pay Togetherness
People do not retire. They are retired by others.
DUKE ELLINGTON

People Retirement
Playing ‘bop’ is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Missing Play
Art is dangerous. It is one of the attractions: when it ceases to be dangerous, you don’t want it.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Art Dangerous Oneself Yourself
What does music mean to you? What would you do without music?
DUKE ELLINGTON

Important Meaning Music Yourself
There are simply two kinds of music, good music and the other kind the only yardstick by which the result should be judged is simply that of how it sounds. If it sounds good it’s successful; if it doesn’t it has failed.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Failure Kind Music Result Success

The most important thing I look for in a musician is whether he knows how to listen.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

The most important thing I look for in a musician is whether he knows how to listen.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Duke Ellington Quotes