black
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Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.

Miles Davis

I’m not messing around with nobody’s woman. If I want a woman I go get her – you know what I mean?
MILES DAVIS

Known Myself Woman
It’s not the notes you play, it’s the notes you don’t play.
MILES DAVIS

Musician Notes Play Yourself
I never thought that the music called “jazz” was ever meant to reach just a small group of people, or become a museum thing locked under glass like all the other dead things that were once considered artistic.
MILES DAVIS

Artistic Music People Reach Thinking
Jazz is an Uncle Tom word. They should stop using that word for selling. I told George Wein the other day that he should stop using it.
MILES DAVIS

Music Myself Sell Word
Some musicians play with their heart, you know what I mean? I don’t know what to tell a person that can’t – if you can’t tell a person what you’re talkin’ about when they’re rushin’ or droppin’ the tempo, you get somebody else.
MILES DAVIS

Heart Known Musician Person Play Yourself
I used to enjoy all the white bands when I was a kid listening to the radio. But the record companies, they take music and label it – like, they say “rock”. Because the white singers can’t sound like James Brown, they call him “soul”. They’ve been doing that for years. That’s the prejudice crap.
MILES DAVIS

Enjoyment Listening White
Knowledge is freedom and ignorance is slavery.
MILES DAVIS

Freedom Ignorance Knowledge Slave
Always look ahead, but never look back.
MILES DAVIS

Forward Future Past See
We’re not going to play the blues anymore. Let the white folks play the blues. They got ’em, so they can keep ’em.
MILES DAVIS

Music Play Sadness White
It’s not the note you play that’s the wrong note – it’s the note you play afterwards that makes it right or wrong.
MILES DAVIS

Instrument Music Play Right Wrong Yourself
He sounded to me like he’s supposed to be the savior of jazz. Sometimes people speak as though someone asked them a question. Well, no one asked him a question.
MILES DAVIS

Oneself People Question Sound Time
Always listen for what you can leave out.
MILES DAVIS

Leave Listening Yourself
I ain’t no entertainer, and ain’t trying to be one. I am one thing, a musician.
MILES DAVIS

Entertainment Musician Myself Trying
When you work with great musicians, they are always a part of you . . . their spirits are walking around in me, so they’re still here and passing it on to others.
MILES DAVIS

Greatness Musician Spirit Walk Work Yourself
White folks always think that you have to have a label on everything – you know what I mean?
MILES DAVIS

Known Label Thinking Yourself
In improvisation, there are no mistakes.
MILES DAVIS

Improvisation Mistake Spontaneous
When kids don’t learn about their own heritage in school, they just don’t care about school… But you won’t see it in the history books unless we get the power to write our own history and tell our story ourselves.
MILES DAVIS

Children Heritage History Learning Ourselves Story
Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.
MILES DAVIS

Be Yourself Musician Play Time
I think every Negro over fifty should get a medal for putting up with all that crap.
MILES DAVIS

Thinking Tolerance
Coltrane, you cant play everything at once!
MILES DAVIS

Instrument Play Yourself
I’ve always told the musicians in my band to play what they know and then play above that. Because then anything can happen, and that’s where great art and music happens.
MILES DAVIS

Art Greatness Music Play
I don’t like to hear someone put down dixieland. Those people who say there’s no music but bop are just stupid; it shows how much they don’t know.
MILES DAVIS

Known Music Myself People Stupidity
Don’t worry about playing a lot of notes. Just find one pretty one.
MILES DAVIS

Finding Music Notes Oneself Play Worry
Music is a funny thing when you really come to think about it.
MILES DAVIS

Funny Music Thinking Yourself
In high school I was best in music class on the trumpet, but the prizes went to the boys with blue eyes. I made up my mind to outdo anybody white on my horn.
MILES DAVIS

Best Discrimination Musician Myself White
Keith, how does it feel to be a genius?
MILES DAVIS

Feeling Genius One Liner
It’s not about standing still and becoming safe. If anybody wants to keep creating they have to be about change.
MILES DAVIS

Change Creation Safety Stand Yourself

Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.

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Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.

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