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" I didn't learn the word 'genre' until way, way late - I mean, like, in the '80s. "

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" I've always respected and taken care of my instrument. "

" When I worked with my uncle, I loved the fact that jazz music demanded that you use your own unique approach. "

" I did a project called 'Sing The Truth,' which was a lot of fun. It started out being a celebration of the music of Nina Simone, and it was me and Lizz Wright and Angelique Kidjo. "

" When I was in junior high school, I knew I really wanted to sing. "

" When I found out how music made me feel and how my singing made other people feel, that's when I decided this is what I wanted to do. "

" My junior high school teacher, Bennie Williams, was really more than a music teacher. She taught us poetry. She helped us put on school shows. She did all these kinds of things to help us stand in each other's shoes, and it was a really powerful time. That's when I discovered that I could sing. "

" I think an artist who has it in their heart to do or say something, they'll say it. It's not something that's mandatory, but it will come out. "

" I love being with artists because I'm always open to getting into something. "

" Music is a conversation between the audience and me, and I love that about my profession. "

" The biggest thing is to just keep your voice in shape so that when the emotion hits, it's there to have the colors to paint those pictures with the lyrics as well as the sound. "

" My foundation is jazz. I do all the things jazz musicians do. "

" My life has been going in ways I never could have dreamed of - doing the closing celebration for the Olympic Games and being appointed the creative chair for jazz at the L.A. Philharmonic. So I've just decided I'll go with my flow and be very prepared. "

" My mother was actually born in Toledo and raised in Detroit. "

" Even in a world with much sadness, at its essence, life is beautiful. "

" I love New York City because there's something to do 24/7, something that will make you see things in a whole different light. Like they say, it's the city that never sleeps. "

" I'm a chameleon. When you put me in certain soils, musically speaking, I will be in that place. "

" I had aunts who played piano and sang and also were entertainers, so music was very much a part of my life. "

" The Confederate flag is a divisive presence - it's the opposite of everything my artistry means and represents. "

" Brazilian music has been a part of almost every record I've done, and I'd eventually like to record an entire album of Brazilian music. "

" One of the things that I love about Sarah Vaughan is that she was always very current. "

" I'm a great cook. People have asked me to do a cookbook. "

" I always say that improvisation is the utterance of one's spirit, and it dictates your life experience, and that's how you find your concepts and your way for painting your musical picture. "

" I think that when I started singing, I didn't know what I wanted to do; I only knew what I didn't want to do. "

" Herb Wong was an incredible man. We met when I was performing with Clark Terry at the Wichita Jazz Festival around 1974. "

" My mother would say, 'Stay ready so you don't have to get ready.' I spent a lot of my early years preparing for beautiful moments that have unfolded in my life so far. "

" Nina Simone is a musical genius and a rich and precious treasure who paid a heavy price for her artistic freedom. "

" I look back at Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, and especially Betty Carter, whom I admire the most, and I say, OK, they set a standard of excellence. I listen to them not for what they are doing, but to study where they are coming from because, for me, jazz is life experience. "

" My friend Harry Belafonte is an activist and musician, an extraordinary man who has dedicated his life to human rights. He taught me the power of words and that music can be used to heal and educate people. "

" Some people think that all you do is record, and it's not the case. You take on other projects as well, and you have to live a little bit because it inspires your work. "

" In high school, we had a really great jazz program that I finally was able to be a part of. They only wanted instrumentalists; they didn't want any singers. But I made my way in, and I remember the conductor of the band wrote a lot of arrangements and asked me what I wanted to sing. "