Miles Davis Quotes

That's the way women do. The frown. They want to give you the attitude to approach them back, by giving you a negative vibe.

You want to know how I started playing trumpet? My father bought me one, and I studied the trumpet. And everybody I heard that I liked, I picked up things from.

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

In respect for drummers, see, I love drummers.

Do not be afraid of errors. There are no errors.

Certain drummers drop time, and I like to play on top of the beat.

You can't compete with Sweets' sound and time feel. It's impossible.

John Lee Hooker is the funkiest man alive

[Prince] could very well be the Duke Ellington of Rock 'n' Roll.

When I heard Coleman Hawkins, I learned to play ballads

You ever hear Buddy Miles play the drums? You know, he doesn't vary the tempo at all.

I've used [drum machine] because I have to have the perfect tempo.

I couldn't do "What's Love Got To Do With It", Tina Turner because it wasn't the right tempo; so I scratched it from the record. I wanted to do it about a year ago, but something happened.

I keep telling Ron Lorman and them in the control room, "It's my band! The reason I have a band is because I can't stand for somebody to tell me what to do."

I began to realize that some of the things Ornette Coleman had said about things being played three or fours ways, independently of each other, were true because Bach had also composed that way.

If you're going to drop behind, you have to keep it there.

You have to be born with it. You can't even buy it. If you could buy it, they'd have it at the next Newport Festival.

When I went in there, we used drum machine on "Time After Time" and "Human Nature".We don't use the drum machine to play a pattern. You play the pattern by being consistent.

Monk taught me more about music composition than anyone else on 52nd Street.

I don't wanna talk about Teo [Macero]. He's a helluva musician, a brilliant musician, but he's just not for me, that's all. I can elaborate on it, but I don't want to do that.

They [police] do me like that all the time! "What you work for?".

When we edit the music, I always remember, "It's my band. Save me a place to play."

I've gotten hernias from drummers when they drop tempo.

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

Jazz musicians are so comfortable. The reason they can't do what we do is because they're so comfortable doin' what they do.

He sounded to me like he's supposed to be the savior of jazz. Sometimes people speak as though someone asked them a question. Well, no one asked him a question.

[Jazz musicians] feel comfortable with their clichés, you know.

Drummers - sometimes they play and they listen. And that little listen takes a speck away from the right tempo.

The only way a drum machine will get out of beat is for you not to pay your electric bill.

Japanese people they hear my warmin' up and they start screamin'. They can tell it's me.It's my tone on the trumpet, it sounds like I'm speakin'.

If you have a tone like mine that is recognizable. No matter what I play, when you hear my tone you can tell it's me.

Lionel [Richie] said, "Yeah, I learned chords and stuff playin' against your albums."

It's like swimmin' without warmin' up, yuo know what I mean? So [cackles] we use the drum machine, and we take it out.

I really liked Wynton when I first met him. He's still a nice young man, only confused.

Some of [drummers] drop time because they want to hear what you're doin'.

Like Ron Lorman's always sayin', "Na-na-na-na-na," you know what I mean? I don't need that in the studio.

It's a different ballgame now, so that lets [teo] Macero out. He's always complainin', always sick.

I can tell. I'm gifted with that, you know. When I hear that the tempo is slightly off, it's hard for me.

Catch Harry Belafonte. He's got a helluva rhythm section.And so have the Pointer Sisters. And that little guy with Sammy Clayton. He plays the whole show with 40 members.

Somebody, my daughter or my wife, gave me a music box for Christmas. It plays "My Funny Valentine" on celeste, you know? So I had Bobby [Irving] just play "Jean Pierre" with the changes on celeste.

If I have a dynamite bass player - I have Darryl Jones - it's so easy to write for him because he's such a funky kid and he's gifted. He's like a little genius.

The melody is French. But that's the end of the record. I named it "Jean Pierre Then There Were None," you know, because of the big explosion. You'll like it. It's a nice album.

I can hear what I want [people] to play. If you don't hear what you want someone to play, then you can't tell 'em.

Everybody ought to listen to Benny [Carter]. He's a whole musical education.

I’m always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up in the morning and see the light.

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.

There are two rules for success...1. Never reveal everything you know.

My future starts when I wake up every morning. Every day I find something creative to do with my life.

Do not fear mistakes, there are none.

If you understood everything I said, you’d be me