It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.
DUKE ELLINGTONMusic is my mistress and she plays second fiddle to no one.
More Duke Ellington Quotes
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It’s like an act of murder – you play with intent to commit something.
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A Satin Doll is a woman who is as pretty on the inside as she is on the outside.
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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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If it sounds good and feels good, then it IS good!
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Every man prays in his own language.
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Tomorrow is in the wings waiting for you to sound her entrance fanfare.
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Without a deadline, baby, I wouldn’t do nothing.
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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.
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Music is the tonal reflection of beauty.
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I don’t need time, I need a deadline.
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Jazz is a good barometer of freedom.
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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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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.
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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.
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I don’t need time. What I need is a deadline!
DUKE ELLINGTON






