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I fluffed off the guy who kept requesting tunes all night, then found out he was the King’s son.

Duke Ellington

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

Knowledge Master Musician
Without a deadline, baby, I wouldn’t do nothing.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Lazy Limitation Procrastination
My 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.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Blessing Human Inheritance Mom Myself Royalty
If it sounds good and feels good, then it IS good!
DUKE ELLINGTON

Feeling Music Sound
A musical profit outweighs a financial loss.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Financial Loss Musical Profit
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
A problem is a chance for you to do your best.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Best Chance Problem Yourself
Yet, every time God’s children have thrown away fear in pursuit of honesty-trying to communicate themselves, understood or not, miracles have happened.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Children Communication God Honesty Miracle Time
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
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.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Death Hide Place Walk
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
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.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Carry Criticism Focus Purpose Thinking
Create, and be true to yourself, and depend only on your own good taste.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Creation Goodness Taste True
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.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Himself Important Known Listening Musician
There is no art without intention.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Art Creation Creativity Intention One Liner
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.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Association Audience Listening Music Perspective Play
Dancing is very important to people who play music with a beat. I think that people who don’t dance, or who never did dance, don’t really understand the beat. I know musicians who don’t and never did dance, and they have difficulty communicating.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Communication Dance Important Myself People
Love is supreme and unconditional; like is nice but limited.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Limitation Love
Sing sweet, but put a little dirt in it.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Music Sing Song Sweet
Music is the tonal reflection of beauty.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Beautiful Music Reflection
The artist must say it without saying it.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Artist Language
People do not retire. They are retired by others.
DUKE ELLINGTON

People Retirement
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
Gray skies are just clouds passing over.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Cloud Pass Sky
Selfishness can be a virtue. Selfishness is essential to survival, and without survival we cannot protect those whom we love more than ourselves.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Ourselves Selfish Survive Virtue
Tomorrow is in the wings waiting for you to sound her entrance fanfare.
DUKE ELLINGTON

Entrance Sound Wings

I fluffed off the guy who kept requesting tunes all night, then found out he was the King’s son.

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I fluffed off the guy who kept requesting tunes all night, then found out he was the King’s son.

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