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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

Bebop didn’t have the humanity of Duke Ellington. It didn’t even have that recognizable thing. Bird and Diz were great, fantastic, challenging – but they weren’t sweet.
MILES DAVIS

Challenge Greatness Humanity Recognition Sweet
I don’t pay no attention to what critics say about me, the good or the bad. The toughest critic I got is myself…and I’m too vain to play anything I think is bad.
MILES DAVIS

Attention Bad Criticism Myself Pay Play 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
For me, music and life are all about style.
MILES DAVIS

Life Music Style
I’ll play it first and figure out what it’s called later.
MILES DAVIS

Music Myself Name Play
If somebody told me I only had an hour to live, I’d spend it choking a white man. I’d do it nice and slow.
MILES DAVIS

Kill Live Man Myself Slow White
A painting is music you can see and music is a painting you can hear.
MILES DAVIS

Hear Music Painting See Yourself
In improvisation, there are no mistakes.
MILES DAVIS

Improvisation Mistake Spontaneous
With “We Are The World,” I can’t even eat when I watch that on television. If I’m eatin’ some food, I have to put it down. I feel very strongly about that.
MILES DAVIS

Eat Feeling Myself Strong Watch World
Coltrane, you cant play everything at once!
MILES DAVIS

Instrument Play Yourself
If I hear a song like “Time After Time.” I’m sittin’ there lookin’ at video and Cindy Lauper comes on singin’ this song. I said, “God damnnnnn!”
MILES DAVIS

Goodness Music Myself Time Video
That was my gift having the ability to put certain guys together that would create a chemistry and then letting them go; letting them play what they knew, and above it.
MILES DAVIS

Ability Chemistry Known Play Togetherness
The way you change and help music is by tryin’ to invent new ways to play.
MILES DAVIS

Change Help Music Play Way
I know what I’ve done for music, but don’t call me a legend. Just call me Miles Davis.
MILES DAVIS

Call Known Legend Music Myself
You should never be comfortable, man. Being comfortable fouled up a lot of musicians.
MILES DAVIS

Comfortable Musician Ruin Yourself
Americans don’t like any form of art, man. All they like to do is make money. They don’t like me, Sammy Davis, or anybody else. They don’t like nothing. They just like Sammy because he can make ’em a lot of money.
MILES DAVIS

Art Celebrity Form Man Money Musician

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.

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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.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

More Miles Davis Quotes