I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.
Duke EllingtonRead
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!
Interpretation
What this quote means
Maintaining a group requires an incentive; in this case, money is the motivator.
Duke Ellington humorously expresses the idea that the cohesion of a band depends not on artistry or camaraderie, but rather on financial incentives. He underscores the reality that practicalities, like paying musicians, often take precedence over the romanticized notion of artistic unity and collaboration.
Themes
BandMoneyGimmickMotivationMusic
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about teamwork during a music festival.
More from Duke Ellington
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Playing 'bop' is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing.
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Jazz is a good barometer of freedom.
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