Compendium of Jazz Quotes – Miles Davis
Matthew Mullenweg created the content management system WordPress (which is what I use to blog). He is also a jazzer, and he has created a great compendium of jazz quotes–quite likely the only comprehensive online resource available for this topic. Check out the complete index on Matt’s site here. Here are some selected quotes from this great resource:
- “Monk was a gentle person, gentle and beautiful, but he was strong as an ox. And if I had ever said something about punching Monk out in front of his face – and I never did – then somebody should have just come and got me and taken me to the madhouse, because Monk could have just picked my little ass up and thrown me through a wall.”
- “I don’t care if a dude is purple with green breath as long as he can swing.”
- “A legend is an old man with a cane known for what he used to do. I’m still doing it.”
- “In Europe, they like everything you do. The mistakes and everything. That’s a little bit too much.”
- “You know why I quit playing ballads? Cause I love playing ballads. ”
- “Do not fear mistakes. There are none.”
- “Always look ahead, but never look back.”
Photo credit – http://www.flickr.com/photos/buddaski01/
16 March 2008, 8:47 am
I’m going to mis-quote Miles, I’m sure, but there is a legendary story of Miles talking with John Coltrane. Trane said he could never figure out how to end his solos, and Miles replied, “Take the horn out of your mouth.”