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" I'm a jazz musician, and I really wanted to not miss an opportunity to have the full connection to jazz. "

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" I'm thrilled when I hear the greatest jazz musicians. They continue to search in ways other musicians do not. "

" It helps me to learn things in different languages, even if it's just phonetically, and to make myself vulnerable to other audiences by trying to reflect back to them the genius of their own cultures, and to do that, oftentimes, in new jazz settings, new arrangements. It's a way to show respect. "

" I think of jazz as being homage through innovation. Don't quote that as a definition, but it comes pretty close. "

" Man, I just feel so fortunate to be a jazz musician at all. I have a hard time thinking of it any other way. It's such a fulfilling vocation. I love it. "

" Chicago is my home. And the way Chicago sounds will always be a part of who I am. "

" While I revel in the memories of my own Grammy moment, I also know how it feels to walk away empty-handed. "

" It's true that I'm not known as a crooner or balladeer. I'm known for a more crusading or quixotic temperament. "

" A lot of people are put off by the idea of scat singing. Either that or it's something to be made fun of. "

" I haven't been afraid of John Coltrane or Miles Davis or Bill Evans or Wayne Shorter or Herbie Hancock. Why would I be afraid of the Beatles? "

" Every record is a gate of a certain kind for me. "

" A lot of the commercial world wants to bank in on the cachet that jazz brings. "

" I've tried to educate myself in the world and what's beautiful and what has meaning and is lasting. Then I just follow my intuition and see how it fits. "

" You can start from any source material, and you can approach it with a jazz ear, and then it will become a jazz moment. "

" Listening to something without being present is different from being there in the flesh. "

" That's the thing: There are so many art songs in jazz. It's a much more rich experience for the singer than people think. "

" Why limit yourself to one discipline or field of study? "

" The idea is to be unrestrained by categories. "

" You don't just let a guy drop off the earth and not come together with everybody who knew him and loved him and respected him. You try to do it the right way. "

" As improvisers, we're acting as composers in front of people. "

" One doesn't have to scat to be a jazz singer. "

" I've worked with a number of big bands, but there's nothing in life like the Basie band. "

" You work very hard on the lyrics. Getting them to fit the contours of improvised melodies. "

" I want to be the jazz singer. "

" It's a beautiful thing to have time in the world, as a singer and as a musician, to make friends with people of the musical caliber of a Tommy Smith, an Arturo Sandoval, a Richard Galliano, a Till Broenner. "

" I don't want to take it easy. "

" If you start to dwell on your pain, the amount of pain will increase. "

" I'm lucky that I enjoy touring as much as I do. I'm not going to make a living just making records. "

" Sometimes people have this notion that improvisation is simply intuitive leaping into the unknown. "

" My strength is to communicate with an audience and to know what jazz singing is capable of. "

" Salacious? I suppose every once in a while the salacious thing is not a bad thing. It's kind of monochromatic if that's all you do. "