Miles Davis

"Do not fear mistakes. There are none."

"Man, sometimes it snows in April."

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

"Don't play what's there, play what's not there."

"Time isn't the main thing. It's the only thing."

"The only thing that matters is what you do with it."

"I always listen to what I can leave out."

"You can tell the spirits by the way they play."

"It's not about the notes you play, it's about the notes you don't play."

"I'm playing what the moment requires."

"In order to come forward, you have to go back."

"Quit while you're ahead. That's what they want you to do."

"The real issue is how do you get the cats who play the music to understand the music they're playing."

"I look for something new, I explore after playing the same things for years: I try to find a new melody."

"When you're not practicing, someone else is."

"Man, if you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know."

"The worst thing in the world is a guy with talent and he doesn't use his talent."

"I don't care if a musician is playing Mozart or Duke Ellington, it's the feeling that matters."

"All kinds of people call me all day and night, wanting me to do things. Hang around with their children, endorse their products."

"Your potential is truly limitless."

"I had to take a long time to figure out how to play it so that I could play it the way I wanted to."

"I went to Juilliard and was taught music by the best musicians and the best teachers."

"Playing bebop keeps your chops up."

"The worst thing for a musician is to become comfortable."

"I just pick up my horn and play."

"There are no rules in music."

"All music is folk music. I ain't never heard a horse sing a song."

"A mode is a thing."

"I'll play it first and tell you what it is later."

"You have to have a concept of what you want to do before you go in the recording studio."