Miles Davis

Knowledge is freedom and ignorance is slavery

Joao Gilberto on guitar could read a newspaper and sound good.

I was minding my own business when something says to me, "you ought to blow trumpet." I have just been trying ever since.

When the band plays fast, you play slow; when the band plays slow, you play fast.

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

My ego only needs a good rhythm section

I know what I've done for music, but don't call me a legend. Just call me Miles Davis.

Jazz is the big brother of Revolution. Revolution follows it around.

In music, silence is more important than sound.

It's not the note you play that's the wrong note - it's the note you play afterwards that makes it right or wrong.

You'd be surprised. Drummers ape each other. The way every rock n' roll record sounds like something else but not all together. Everything other drummers play, if you're playing drums, they all hear.

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

Jimi Hendrix came from the blues, like me. We understood each other right away because of that. He was a great blues guitarist.

He comes in on the beat and plays on top of the beat. I think when Prince makes love, he hears drums instead of Ravel.

It takes a long time to sound like yourself.

Don't be afraid of mistakes - There are none.

What's swinging in words? If a guy makes you pat your foot and if you feel it down your back, you don't have to ask anybody if that's good music or not. You can always feel it.

If you got up on the bandstand at Minton's and couldn't play, you were not only going to be embarrassed by the people ignoring you or booing you, you might get your ass kicked.

Keith, how does it feel to be a genius?

I don't like to hear someone put down dixieland. Those people who say there's no music but bop are just stupid; it shows how much they don't know.

As long as I've been playing, they never say I done anything. They always say that some white guy did it.