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" A lot of people in the African-American community are raised by grandmothers, and that relationship is a special bond and circle. "

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" Where I fit genre-wise, it's hard to tell. It's a fickle wind. But I have to believe there's always going to be a place for the songs inside of me. "

" Jazz has provided the framework for all the other stuff that I've done. "

" Life is good. It might not go the way we plan it, but that's fine. We just do what we can. "

" What I learned about singing in the church has gone into what I do now. "

" As a southern woman, we often define ourselves by who we are with. But I wanted my life to be built differently. "

" I come from a lineage of ministers. "

" I think of myself as an interpretative singer and a songwriter. "

" I never left jazz. The relationship between structure and improvisation - that constant conversation and tension - I've always wanted in every genre and song that I perform. "

" I think, as singers and performers, we are ambassadors of the human experience. I don't want to get bored just talking about myself. "

" For me, I just want to sing about life. And since I come from a spiritual background, I turned to jazz, because I feel it's still sacred, like gospel. It's serious music, but it allows room to sing about so much other stuff as well. "

" So many great singers we know have come from the church. "

" I didn't wait around for my parents' opinion about my venture out into contemporary music. "

" I live just above a creek, and it's always very active. It almost sounds like the ocean. It's constant, and there's lots of big rocks in it, so it's got a great sound. It's one of my favorite things. "

" I don't think words always lead to meaning, but the things you can create with them are still pretty amazing. I've been really into Joni Mitchell, for example, but I've also been into some studio stuff, like Bjork. "

" I am more prolific when I have something to respond to. I get my juice from people and real stories and things that seem common but are amazing. "

" It's hard to know who you are until you're cracked open a little bit. "

" We had no television, and I only heard the radio when my parents went out to a Bible study group. They liked a quiet, meditative house. "

" Music is primal: when it's done without pretension, you can really feel the shape of someone's soul. "

" The truth is, when you want a great show, it's not 'entertaining' the audience - it's you sharing with them... an experience of communion. "

" I love talking to other musicians on tour and finding out what we all have to do, not just as artists but as business people. A lot of us are investing and trying to use social media. It is such an interesting level of responsibility and engagement on all these levels. I don't know how one can do this without absolute commitment and faith. "

" Gardening is a working meditation for me. It helps me remember process, and it helps me remember patience. "

" As I grow older, I hope I can fully embody my grandmother's remarkable peace. "

" I see 'Grace' as an affectionate refusal of things that just aren't true. With all our power and money and influence, we still can't raise up high over people's consciousness. "

" I think living in a way that's close to nature makes you feel like that - makes you feel how thin the veil is between life and death. "

" I love singing all types of genres. "

" I always want to do good work and enjoy doing it. "

" The women and the men are teachers and preachers in my family, and a little bit of both those fell on me. "

" I know how to make myself comfortable. "

" I have no ancestral link to the mountains. But I really do feel close to mountain culture. Their ways of food, of thinking. The way they hang out with no recording devices and just sing songs with each other. "

" I'm in love with the way that Ella Fitzgerald delivered a lyric. She would deliver a lyric with the kind of clarity that would make you wonder why it was written, and make you think about the writer. I think every writer hopes an Ella of any genre or anytime gets a hold of their work and works the song like that. "