Duke Ellington

"The wise musicians are those who listen more than they play."

"There's no such thing as a wrong note if you play it like you mean it."

"Every man prays in his own language, and there is no language that God does not understand."

"Lose yourself in the music and the rhythm will set you free."

"I'm more interested in the future than in the past."

"Beauty is when the music stops being something you hear and becomes something you feel."

"You cannot be in a hurry to realize the essential worth of anything."

"My band members are like my family - we bleed together on stage."

"The real measure of a musician is what he does with silence."

"I've got the world in my hands when I've got my saxophone."

"Don't be afraid to fail; be afraid not to try."

"A dream is like a river - ever changing, ever flowing."

"Life is too short to play boring music."

"The true test of character is what you do when nobody's watching."

"I don't compose in one style; I compose in many moods."

"Time is a companion that goes with us on a journey."

"What's brought about this change? I don't know. I hope I die before I get old."

"A man is not finished when he is defeated. He is finished when he quits."

"I love the friendly sands of time."

"In the beginning, there's one voice speaking truth."

"The sweetest sound is a well-played chord progression."

"I'm blessed because I love what I do, and I do what I love."

"Every day I discover something new about myself through music."

"Success comes to those who stay focused and keep moving forward."

"I learned more from my mistakes than from my masterpieces."

"The bandstand taught me what the classroom never could."

"Peace comes from within, not from without."

"I've never written a song I didn't believe in."

"Imagination is the beginning of creation."

"The secret to happiness is finding joy in the journey, not the destination."