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That's what I have to say as a band leader. I can't say, "Well, I'm going to solo on every tune. Every time somebody plays it's me." That's not the solution.

— Wynton Marsalis Wynton Marsalis on What Jazz Can Teach Us About Democracy (2026)

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Leadership

More quotes by Wynton Marsalis

We're blues people. And blues never lets tragedy have the last word.

The first jazz musician was a trumpeter, Buddy Bolden, and the last will be a trumpeter, the archangel Gabriel.

Some stances are just conducive to swinging. If I stand up straight for too long it's harder to swing. Plus my feet hurt.

Quotable Jazz (2002)

I think that virtuosity is the first sign of morality in a musician. It means you're serious enough to practice.

For Wynton Marsalis’ 55th birthday (2015)

Democracy dies when you do not understand the need for leveling, and to create wealth for everybody, and to see in your neighbor not an enemy, but a friend, and for elites to manage themselves.

Wynton Marsalis on What Jazz Can Teach Us About Democracy (2026)

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Political leaders are never leaders. For leaders we have to look to the Awakeners! Lao Tse, Buddha, Socrates, Jesus, Milarepa, Gurdjiev, Krishnamurti.

Henry Miller My Bike & Other Friends (1977)

It's simply to say that managers and investors alike must understand that accounting numbers is the beginning, not the end, of business valuation.

Warren Buffett Letters to Shareholders (1957)

Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of the men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory.

George S. Patton

Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.

George S. Patton War As I Knew It (1947)

Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Wynton Marsalis (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.