Don Ellis Quotes & Sayings

On those long notes behind the trumpet solo, if anyone lets his mind wander for a minute he is dead. — Don Ellis

I got bored with the old way - it came too easy. I worked until I could play and chord changes at any tempo in any key, and then said 'What else is there?' Now I'm finding out. — Don Ellis

Because when we are right there is not a band in the world that can touch us! — Don Ellis

If one takes all the styles in jazz harmonically from the earliest beginnings to the latest experiments, he still has a rather limited scope when compared to the rest of music in the world. — Don Ellis

I expect the audience to come up to my level. I am not interested in compromising my music to make it palatable to an assumed sub-standard mass. — Don Ellis

It is my belief that there is a tendency among the so-called 'modern' or 'hip' jazz musicians to consider styles other that their own, 'corny', and it is my contention that in actuality it is these musicians who are producing that which in future years perceptive critics will deem 'corny'. — Don Ellis

To be a true artist you have to play the way you feel - not the way others think you should feel. — Don Ellis