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

Duke Ellington

You’ve got to find a way of saying it without saying it.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Finding Silence Way Yourself
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

Appearance Interest Myself Realize Right
Love is supreme and unconditional; like is nice but limited.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Limitation Love
What does music mean to you? What would you do without music?
DUKE ELLINGTON

Important Meaning Music Yourself
There is no art when one does something without intention.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Art Intention
A Satin Doll is a woman who is as pretty on the inside as she is on the outside.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Doll Herself Pretty Woman
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.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Country Enjoyment Listening Popular
A musical profit outweighs a financial loss.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Financial Loss Musical Profit
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

Evidence Love Myself Yourself
Sing sweet, but put a little dirt in it.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Music Sing Song Sweet
Jazz today, as always in the past, is a matter of thoughtful creation, not mere unaided instinct.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Creation Instinct Past Thinking
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

Interest Music Problem Yourself
I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Blue Energy Myself Writing
Every man prays in his own language.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Himself Language Man Prayer
It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Meaning 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.

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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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