Earl Hines Quotes & Sayings

If you see me up there on the stand smiling, I'm lost! — Earl Hines

I always challenge myself. I get out in deep water and I always try to get back. But I get hung up. The audience never knows, but that's when I smile the most, when I show the most ivory. — Earl Hines

I always thought jazz was like the trunk of a tree. After the tree has grown, many branches have spread out. They're all with different leaves and they all look beautiful. But at the end of the season, they fold back up and it's still the tree trunk. — Earl Hines

You may have holes in your shoes, but don't let the people out front know it. Shine the tops. — Earl Hines

I don't think I think when I play. I have a photographic memory for chords, and when I'm playing, the right chords appear in my mind like photographs long before I get to them. — Earl Hines