133 Quotes by Duke Ellington

New York is a place where the rich walk, the poor drive Cadillacs, and beggars die of malnutrition with thousands of dollars hidden in their mattresses.

Tomorrow is in the wings waiting for you to sound her entrance fanfare.

Critics get a little carried away with what someone should have done, rather than what he did.

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.

Selfishness can be a virtue. Selfishness is essential to survival, and without survival we cannot protect those whom we love more than ourselves.

Jazz today, as always in the past, is a matter of thoughtful creation, not mere unaided instinct.

Without a deadline, baby, I wouldn't do nothing.

Somehow I suspect that if Shakespeare were alive today, he might be a jazz fan himself.

Jazz is a good barometer of freedom.