Quotes from Miles Davis

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.

I said to [Lionel] Richie, "Man, my wife says you must really respect women because you write such beautiful love songs."

In respect for drummers, see, I love drummers.

When you do anything too long, you either wear it out or lose interest.

Prince is from the school of James Brown, and I love James Brown because of all the great rhythms he plays.

Prince got some Marvin Gaye and Jimi Hendrix and Sly in him, also, even Little Richard. He's a mixture of all those guys and Duke Ellington.

If you understood everything I said, you'd be me

Man, sometimes it takes you a long time to sound like yourself.

Don't play what's there; play what's not there.

It's like, how did Columbus discover America when the Indians were already here? What kind of shit is that, but white people's shit?

My future starts when I wake up every morning. Every day I find something creative to do with my life.

Knowledge is freedom and ignorance is slavery.

Anybody can play. The note is only 20 percent. The attitude of the motherfucker who plays it is 80 percent.

When you're creating your own shit, man, even the sky ain't the limit.

you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.

It's not about standing still and becoming safe. If anybody wants to keep creating they have to be about change.

Some day I'm gonna call me up on the phone, so when I answer, I can tell myself to shut up.

Good music is good no matter what kind of music it is.

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.

If you sacrifice your art because of some woman, or some man, or for some color, or for some wealth, you can't be trusted.

I remember one time - it might have been a couple times - at the Fillmore East in 1970, I was opening for this sorry-ass cat named Steve Miller. Steve Miller didn't have his shit going for him, so I'm pissed because I got to open for this non-playing motherfucker just because he had one or two sorry-ass records out. So I would come late and he would have to go on first and then we got there we smoked the motherfucking place, everybody dug it.

I'm always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up in the morning and see the light.

Music is an addiction.

For me, music and life are all about style.