Everyone prays in their own language, and there is no language that God does not understand.
DUKE ELLINGTONI’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.
More Duke Ellington Quotes
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The problem of expressing the contributions that Benny Carter has made to popular music is so tremendous it completely fazes me, so extraordinary a musician is he.
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You’ve got to find a way of saying it without saying it.
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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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There are two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind.
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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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A Satin Doll is a woman who is as pretty on the inside as she is on the outside.
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There is hardly any money interest in art, and music will be there when money is gone.
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New music? Hell, there’s been no new music since Stravinsky.
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You have to stop listening in categories. The music is either good or it’s bad.
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A musical profit outweighs a financial loss.
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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.
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Create, and be true to yourself, and depend only on your own good taste.
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Jazz today, as always in the past, is a matter of thoughtful creation, not mere unaided instinct.
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Problems are chances for us to do our best.
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A problem is a chance for you to do your best.
DUKE ELLINGTON






