I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.
Duke EllingtonRead
Music is my mistress and she plays second fiddle to no one.
Interpretation
Duke Ellington expresses his devotion to music, prioritizing it above all else.
In this quote, Duke Ellington personifies music as his mistress, implying a deep and passionate relationship. He emphasizes that music holds a paramount place in his life, indicating that no other interest or commitment can overshadow his dedication to it, reflecting the profound impact art has on one's existence.
In practice
In a speech about creativity, one might say, 'As Duke Ellington once put it, Music is my mistress and she plays second fiddle to no one, emphasizing the importance of following one's passion.'
I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.
Tomorrow is in the wings waiting for you to sound her entrance fanfare.
There is no art without intention.
There is nothing to keeping a band together. You simply have to have a gimmick, and the gimmick I use is to pay them money!
Gray skies are just clouds passing over.
Playing 'bop' is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing.
It's a constant challenge to get your arrangement and musical expression across to a new audience, especially when you're playing live every night like we are.
The role of an orchestra in the 21st century isn't just playing, it's about developing future audiences and performers.
The dancer of the future will be one whose body & soul have grown so harmoniously together that the natural language of the soul will have become the movement of the body.
I'm uncomfortable with the focus on the poet and not on the poem.
When I was in Cambridge reading mathematics, I went to Amsterdam for the International Mathematics Congress. There I saw M.C. Escher's fascinating work. That inspired me to try my hand at drawing such impossibilities.
The anarchist painter is not the one who will create anarchist pictures, but the one who will fight with all his individuality against official conventions.
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