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

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" I let the song guide me. I move through the space that I'm given rather than trying to make an impression on the material. I'm curious to learn from the music. "

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

" I'm kind of a subtle person. "

" I want to record, tour, and just live life. "

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

" There's a beautiful, kind of seductive trap in being autobiographical in our writing of songs: We just get stuck in our own syrup, and it's so personal that it almost can be embarrassing to the listener. "

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

" 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. "

" 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. "

" I know how to make myself comfortable. "

" Salif Keita's one of my favorite artists. "

" My mom has a couple great tricks, but my father is consistently a good cook. He's extremely avid about health and fitness and a bit obsessive. He always talks about garden-fresh food. "

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

" It's very hard for me to place myself alongside another artist. Everyone has something unique to express. "

" No matter what happens, I can go back to the mountains. I have nature and my wonderful friends and neighbors. I get so much by being there. "

" I love singing all types of genres. "

" I'd listen to the radio, especially when my parents were out on house calls to pray for people - you know, shut-ins. Sometimes, if we were incredibly sneaky, we could do it at night when everyone was asleep. "

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

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

" 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. "

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

" Everyone I perform and tour with looks out for each other; we ensure we stay healthy. "

" I'm a real Otis Redding fan, and I just think he sounds so good. He sounds like he's always at the end of a long day, and he just won't give up. I just love his wearied devotion - that beautiful, beautiful, weathered sound. "

" I've always loved the woods, and I've always loved gardening and a lot of solitude and quiet. "

" By high school, I was putting the music for the services together and teaching Sunday school to everybody's kids. "

" 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 studied opera for a year at Georgia State University, but I wasn't interested in that meticulous, technical approach to music. So I left school and went back to jazz. "

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

" 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. "

" 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. "