The artist must say it without saying it.
DUKE ELLINGTONMy mother told me I was blessed, and I have always taken her word for it. Being born of – or reincarnated from – royalty is nothing Like being blessed. Royalty is inherited from another human being; blessedness comes from God.
More Duke Ellington Quotes
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Be a number one yourself. And not a number two somebody else.
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Somehow I suspect that if Shakespeare were alive today, he might be a jazz fan himself.
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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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A musical profit outweighs a financial loss.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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It’s like an act of murder – you play with intent to commit something.
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The Europeans who went to Africa came back with “modern’ art. What is more African than a Picasso?
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I don’t believe in categories of any kind, and when you speak of problems between blacks and whites in the U.S.A. you are referring to categories again.
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Critics have their purposes, 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 they did.
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There is no art without intention.
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Without a deadline, baby, I wouldn’t do nothing.
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I don’t need time, I need a deadline.
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There is no art when one does something without intention.
DUKE ELLINGTON