I have made all my films for my children with the exception of my first film because my oldest daughter wasn't born when I was making the film about the Brooklyn Bridge.

Quote by Ken Burns

Topics: Ken Burns Quotes

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?

History's just been made for sale to an inside deal.

History's just been made for sale to an inside deal.

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 can understand why some of these drummers and bass players become cult figures with...

I can understand why some of these drummers and bass players become cult figures with...

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...

One of the things I really like about Ford's films is how there is always...

One of the things I really like about Ford's films is how there is always...

I don't use composers. I research music the way I research the photographs or the...

I don't use composers. I research music the way I research the photographs or the...

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.

In a sense I've made the same film over and over again. In all of...

In a sense I've made the same film over and over again. In all of...

Wynton told us that Miles sold out, just wanted to make more money, just wanted...

Wynton told us that Miles sold out, just wanted to make more money, just wanted...

A jazz beat is a dynamic changing rhythm.

A jazz beat is a dynamic changing rhythm.

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...

I think we too often make choices based on the safety of cynicism, and what...

I think we too often make choices based on the safety of cynicism, and what...

I am passionately interested in understanding how my country works. And if you want to...

I am passionately interested in understanding how my country works. And if you want to...

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...

The flame is not out, but it is flickering.

The flame is not out, but it is flickering.

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...

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 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...

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...