Duke Ellington

I don't need a vacation. I'm on vacation every day because I love what I do.

Jazz is music, and music is music.

The most important thing I have learned in my life is that you can't please everybody.

Without a deadline, I wouldn't do nothing.

My men and my race are the inspiration of my music.

It's like a painting. You start with a blank canvas and you put a little color here, a little color there, and you keep adding until you have a picture.

The audience is the most important thing. If you don't have an audience, you don't have anything.

My music is the spiritual expression of what I am — my background, my race, my experiences.

I don't want to be famous. I just want to be good.

The blues is a feeling, not a style.

The most important thing is to keep on playing.

I don't care what you call it, as long as it's good.

The music is the most important thing.

My music is a reflection of my people.