QuoteProject
Monk taught me more about music composition than anyone else on 52nd Street.
Miles Davis
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Miles Davis credits Monk with significantly influencing his understanding of music composition.

In this quote, Miles Davis reflects on the profound impact that Thelonious Monk had on his musical development, specifically emphasizing Monk's unique approach to composition that stood out among the many talented musicians on 52nd Street. Davis acknowledges that Monk's teachings and style shaped his own artistic expression and understanding of jazz, highlighting the importance of mentorship and learning from peers in the creative process.

Themes

MusicCompositionInfluenceJazzMentorship

In practice

Example use cases

During a music workshop, this quote could be used to inspire young composers about the importance of learning from predecessors.

More from Miles Davis

Knowledge is freedom and ignorance is slavery
Miles DavisRead
Joao Gilberto on guitar could read a newspaper and sound good.
Miles DavisRead
I was minding my own business when something says to me, "you ought to blow trumpet." I have just been trying ever since.
Miles DavisRead
When the band plays fast, you play slow; when the band plays slow, you play fast.
Miles DavisRead
Don't play what's there, play what's not there.
Miles DavisRead
My ego only needs a good rhythm section
Miles DavisRead

Similar quotes

A poem is a serious joke, a truth that has learned jujitsu.
William StaffordRead
I turned silences and nights into words. What was unutterable, I wrote down. I made the whirling world stand still.
Arthur RimbaudRead
A picture lives by companionship, expanding and quickening in the eyes of the sensitive observer. It dies by the same token. It is therefore risky to send it out into the world. How often it must be impaired by the eyes of the unfeeling and the cruelty of the impotent.
Mark RothkoRead
Zaandam has enough to paint for a lifetime.
Claude MonetRead
I am not an actress. I can only play me - on and off the screen.
Brigitte BardotRead
But the only rhyme he could summon for 'out' was 'sauerkraut,' which lacked poetic glory. He let it go. The right line would come in time. That was the thing about poetry. It crept up through the draws and coulees of the brain.
Annie ProulxRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.