Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellingtonwas an American composer, pianist, and bandleader of a jazz orchestra, which he led from 1923 until his death in a career spanning over fifty years...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPianist
Date of Birth29 April 1899
CountryUnited States of America
Duke Ellington quotes about
music fate want
Fate is being kind to me. Fate doesn't want me to be too famous too young.
successful two yardsticks
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.
music play murder
It's like an act of murder-you play with intent to commit something.
beauty dolls satin
A Satin Doll is a woman who is as pretty on the inside as she is on the outside.
needs deadline time-of-need
I don't need time. What I need is a deadline!
loss musical financial
A musical profit outweighs a financial loss.
music adversity sky
Gray skies are just clouds passing over.
music missing playing-jazz
Playing 'bop' is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing.
needs deadline time-of-need
I don't need time, I need a deadline.
jazz barometer
Jazz is a good barometer of freedom.
alive might today
Somehow I suspect that if Shakespeare were alive today, he might be a jazz fan himself.
thoughtful past matter
Jazz today, as always in the past, is a matter of thoughtful creation, not mere unaided instinct.
survival selfishness essentials
Selfishness can be a virtue. Selfishness is essential to survival, and without survival we cannot protect those whom we love more than ourselves.
musician problem made
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.