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" My intellect was quickened at divinity school, and my abilities to discern were strengthened, and that's always valuable. "

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

" I'm one of the culprits who keeps turning stuff around, shaking up original tunes and trying to stand the canon on its ear. But sometimes, you just need to sing the song. "

" Each of the CDs prior to 'Flirting With Twilight' were more like roller-coaster rides. "

" Chicago has a burly, action-oriented but still self-assured and relaxed confidence to its stride. The city has a lot of wide-open space and all the possibilities that suggests. There's a lot of horizontal grandeur here. "

" I don't really have a more intellectualized approach. After the fact, I can sure talk about stuff a lot - but when I make decisions, I really just follow what sounds good to me. "

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

" I know how hard it's been for me to get my thing out there. "

" There's a spiritual complement to any attempt at transposing a commitment to humanity through music or art. "

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

" 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? "

" People want to have access to jazz because it has a vibe that's very strong. "

" If you're going to be transparent, you're going to have to let the music come that wants to come. "

" I want to be the jazz singer. "

" There are incredible musicians around the world. "

" It's pretty rare in jazz to have a full-on steady band. "

" There is an actor's responsibility in presenting the emotional content of the lyrics to an audience. But whether you do that in a straightforward fashion or an ironic fashion or a blase fashion is all about opportunities, and singers are missing opportunities as artists if they don't pay attention to the lyric. "

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

" Part of my joy as a singer is to give gifts to people, and one way I try to connect to them is to add something in French or German or whatever. "

" It must be a hellish thing to know what's possible in music, to be hearing things all the time and not have an appropriate outlet for them. "

" At a certain point, the graduate school thing didn't work out, and that meant I was liberated. "

Graduate School

" I try to sleep as much as I can. I drink a lot of water. I practice consistently and just try to be ready for the gig. "

" There's a wide spectrum of possibilities in how to deliver a song. "

" I had everything to gain by giving it everything I could. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" I've tried to learn as much as I can about the great jazz singers to understand what makes them important, vital artists, but there is always something more to learn. "

" 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. "

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

" You want to be doing your best work whatever field of the arts you're in because your life's going to be over all too soon, and you have to make the most of it. "

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