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" 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. "

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" A lot of young people want to become jazz singers, but there are not more jam sessions like there used to be. I just want to have the opportunity to be able to bring that to some young people. "

Dianne Reeves

Young

Want

Opportunity

" I knew what the story behind 'Dreams' was. It was about Stevie Knicks' relationship. But when I sing it, it's about sharing some sage advice with somebody. "

" When I sing a song, I want someone to recognize 'Now that's Dianne singing that song.' "

" I'm always inspired to push forward. "

" I think the only way for you to grow and evolve is to keep listening, keep moving forward, keep jumping in and trying to experience. "

" I've dated a few musicians in my life, and it's kind of always been that way for me. You unite through creativity and share that process and more together. "

" Jazz is such a living art form. It happens right in the moment. You weave a story by changing certain elements and components. "

" My musical selections are a reflection of how I grew up. Because, back then, you could see Miles Davis and Ravi Shankar on the same stage. And nobody thought anything of it, other than the fact that it was great music. "

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

" Lizz Wright, we call her lovingly 'Amazing Grace.' She has a folk and gospel kind of approach to the music, and she writes beautiful lyrics and songs. She's like this balm that is really full and very rich and deep. "

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

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

" Art is a direct reflection of the life you live. What you experience comes out in your work. "

" I lived in Los Angeles for a long time, and in a lot of ways, I felt like I lived in my car. "

" I had really great art classes. Really great art teachers. Arts played a very important role in having a place to express yourself uniquely. "

" Singers like Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar are very conscious of what's going on around them, and they're waking up lot of young people with that knowledge. They bring their enlightenment to the world; the world that is buying their records. "

" My mother was really amazing and left me with a whole lot of treasures. I miss her terribly. "

Dianne Reeves

Mother

Amazing

" 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. "

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

" Early on, I started with classical voice and had that wonderful foundation. For where I wanted to go at that time, there were no teachers to teach it, so I came up with all kinds of different ways to develop the sound of my voice. "

" It's funny: I look at songs, and I guess they each tell a story, and the different songs talk about different things. But they're unified by the rhythm underneath and the way that we decided to arrange and play them. "

" The thing that I tell young people is everybody is unique in their approach to the music, and you have to protect that. "

" Jazz musicians have always tended to have cult followings, which is pretty wonderful. "

" Each project that you do is something you believe in for that moment in time. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" The music we do is weaved together through stories and life experiences. When people come to hear us, I hope they are are uplifted and that we give them a lot to take home. "

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

" 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. "