Quotes from Duke Ellington

My attitude is never to be satisfied, never enough, never.

You've got to find some way of saying it without saying it.

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.

There is hardly any money interest in art, and music will be there when money is gone.

Music, of course, is what I hear and something that I more or less live by. It's not an occupation or profession, it's a compulsion.

There are two kinds of music. Good music, and the other kind.

The most important thing I look for in a musician is whether he knows how to listen.

You have to stop listening in categories. The music is either good or it's bad.

Music is the tonal reflection of beauty.

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.

Love is indescribable and unconditional. I could tell you a thousand things that it is not, but not one that it is. Either you have it or you haven't; there's no proof of it.

Roaming through the jungle of "Ohs" and "Ahs", searching for a more agreeable noise, I live a life of primitivity with the mind of a child and an unquenchable thirst for sharps and flats.

It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing.

Self-discipline, as a virtue or an acquired asset, can be invaluable to anyone.

New music? Hell, there's been no new music since Stravinsky.

There is no art without intention.

If it sounds good and feels good, then it IS good!

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?

I don't need time. What I need is a deadline!

I don't need time, I need a deadline.

I don't need time, I need a deadline.

There are 2 rules in life: Number 1- Never quit Number2- Never forget rule number 1.

I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.

It doesn't mean a thing if you ain't got that swing