Miles Davis

• Play what you don’t know. Miles Davis

• I’ll play it first and tell you what it is later. Miles Davis

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

• Do not fear mistakes. There are none. Miles Davis

• I asked Miles after the gig, "Miles, what am I supposed to be doing up there?"
  
  He said, "When they play fast, you play slow. When they play slow, you play fast." Miles Davis

• I’ve practiced my tone for almost 50 years, and if I can’t hear my tone, I can’t play. If I can’t play, then I won’t get paid. If I don’t get paid, then I lose the house, you know?
  
  It’s like a chain reaction. If I lose my tone, I can’t fuck, can’t make love, can’t do nothin’. I’ll just walk into the ocean and die, if I lose my tone. Miles Davis

• You can tell whether a person plays or not by the way he carries the instrument, whether it means something to him or not.
  
  Then the way they talk and act. If they act too hip, you know they can’t play shit. Miles Davis

• I remember coming to a concert where they had a big catered meal set out for everyone.
  
  I went and said, "Miles, man, you gotta see all this food they got here."
  
  And Miles said, "I didn’t come here to eat."
  
  (told by Gary Bartz) Miles Davis