Good history is a question of survival. Without any past, we will deprive ourselves of the defining impression of our being.

Quote by Ken Burns

Topics: Ken Burns Quotes

You can learn as much about the history from reading about the present as you...

You can learn as much about the history from reading about the present as you...

A jazz beat is a dynamic changing rhythm.

A jazz beat is a dynamic changing rhythm.

History is malleable. A new cache of diaries can shed new light, and archeological evidence...

History is malleable. A new cache of diaries can shed new light, and archeological evidence...

I began to feel that the drama of the truth that is in the moment...

I began to feel that the drama of the truth that is in the moment...

I subscribe to William Faulkner's' view that history is not just about what we were...

I subscribe to William Faulkner's' view that history is not just about what we were...

I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely...

I think the problem with a lot of the fusion music is that it's extremely...

I read cover to cover every jazz publication that I could and in the New...

I read cover to cover every jazz publication that I could and in the New...

You need, as a historian, essential triangulation from your subject and the only way you...

You need, as a historian, essential triangulation from your subject and the only way you...

You don't work on something for six years and be blind to the myriad of...

You don't work on something for six years and be blind to the myriad of...

By its very nature, no one person can ever be the center of jazz.

By its very nature, no one person can ever be the center of jazz.

When a documentary filmmaker, working in the style that I do, suggests that there has...

When a documentary filmmaker, working in the style that I do, suggests that there has...

I treat the photograph as a work of great complexity in which you can find...

I treat the photograph as a work of great complexity in which you can find...

The stories from 1975 on are not finished and there is no resolve. I could...

The stories from 1975 on are not finished and there is no resolve. I could...

The way I work, the interview never becomes larger than the person being interviewed.

The way I work, the interview never becomes larger than the person being interviewed.

The genius of our country is improvisation, and jazz reflects that. It's our great contribution...

The genius of our country is improvisation, and jazz reflects that. It's our great contribution...

You know, you meet some people, and do a lot of interviews, and you come...

You know, you meet some people, and do a lot of interviews, and you come...

Like a layer on a pearl, you can't specifically identify the irritant, the moment of...

Like a layer on a pearl, you can't specifically identify the irritant, the moment of...

When you are editing, the final master is Aristotle and his poetics. You might have...

When you are editing, the final master is Aristotle and his poetics. You might have...

The flame is not out, but it is flickering.

The flame is not out, but it is flickering.

We're having a hard time understanding where jazz is going. What happened to jazz?

We're having a hard time understanding where jazz is going. What happened to jazz?