39 Inspirational Miles Davis Quotes On Success

1. “Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.” ― Miles Davis

2. “Do not fear mistakes. There are none.” ― Miles Davis

3. “If you don’t know what to play, play nothing.” ― Miles Davis

4. “Always look ahead, but never look back.” ― Miles Davis

5. “Sometimes you have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.” ― Miles Davis

6. “If you understood everything I say, you’d be me!” – Miles Davis

7. “If you’re not making a mistake, it’s a mistake.” ― Miles Davis

8. “In improvisation, there are no mistakes.” ― Miles Davis

9. “It’s always been a gift with me, hearing music the way I do. I don’t know where it comes from, it’s just there and I don’t question it.” ― Miles Davis

10. “I don’t care if a dude is purple with green breath as long as he can swing.” ― Miles Davis

11. “You have to play a long time to be able to play like yourself.” ― Miles Davis

12. “Knowledge is freedom and ignorance is slavery.” ― Miles Davis

13. “I always hated categories. Always. Never thought it had any place in music.” ― Miles Davis

14. “The thing to judge in any jazz artist is, does the man project and does he have ideas.” ― Miles Davis

15. “Do not fear mistakes – there are none.” ― Miles Davis

16. “A legend is an old man with a cane known for what he used to do. I’m still doing it.” ― Miles Davis

17. “I know what I’ve done for music, but don’t call me a legend. Just call me Miles Davis.” ― Miles Davis

18. “Jazz is the big brother of Revolution. Revolution follows it around.” ― Miles Davis

19. “If you sacrifice your art because of some woman, or some man, or for some color, or for some wealth, you can’t be trusted.” ― Miles Davis

20. “If you understood everything I said, you’d be me.” ― Miles Davis

21. “If they act too hip, you know they can’t play shit.” ― Miles Davis

22. “Man, sometimes it takes you a long time to sound like yourself.” ― Miles Davis

23. “Don’t worry about playing a lot of notes. Just find one pretty one.” ― Miles Davis

24. “How far would I travel to be where you are? How far is the journey from here to a star?” – Miles Davis

25. “As long as I’ve been playing, they never say I done anything. They always say that some white guy did it.” ― Miles Davis

26. “When you do anything too long, you either wear it out or lose interest.” ― Miles Davis

27. “I always listen to what I can leave out.” ― Miles Davis

28. “When you get in front of an audience, you should try to give ’em something. After all, they’re there looking at you like this. You can’t go out and give ’em nothing.” ― Miles Davis

29. “I have to change. It’s like a curse.” ― Miles Davis

30. “I’ll play it first and tell you what it is later.” ― Miles Davis

31. “Don’t play what’s there; play what’s not there.” ― Miles Davis

32. “If you’re not nervous, then you’re not paying attention.” ― Miles Davis

33. “Anybody can play. The note is only 20 percent. The attitude of the motherf****r who plays it is 80 percent.” ― Miles Davis

34. “I never thought jazz was meant to be a museum piece like other dead things once considered artistic.” ― Miles Davis

35. “My future starts when I wake up every morning. Every day I find something creative to do with my life.” ― Miles Davis

36. “When I’m playing, I’m never through. It’s unfinished. I like to find a place to leave for someone else to finish it. That’s where the high comes in.” ― Miles Davis

37. “I’m always thinking about creating. My future starts when I wake up every morning… Every day I find something creative to do with my life.” ― Miles Davis

38. “If it sounds clean and slick, I’ve been doing it too long.” ― Miles Davis

39. “When you’re creating your own shit, man, even the sky ain’t the limit.” ― Miles Davis

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