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" 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. "

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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. "

Dianne Reeves

Remember

Great

High School

" 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 moved to Los Angeles, right away I met all kinds of musicians. "

" The way I look at it, people pay me to travel. Once we get to the stage, that part is easy. "

Dianne Reeves

People

Easy

" When I first heard Nina Simone, her naked truth shocked me. Whenever she sang, it felt like lightning bolts in my soul. Every song was like a movie, a unique and very different vignette. "

" I have one closet that's just shoes. The woman go, 'Amen,' and the men go, 'Oh my God.' It's color-coordinated from the ceiling to the floor, from evening to casual. "

" 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. "

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

" Jazz onstage is a very intimate exchange between everybody that's onstage. "

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

" Art and culture and all of these things - they really matter. They shape your individuality. "

" I've always liked a lot of different kinds of music. "

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

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

" I never looked or really believed that music should be categorized into particular genres. "

" I listen to music all the time, and a lot of the things I cover are the standards of my time, and they work for me. "

Dianne Reeves

Music

Listen

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

" Now, jazz institutions are more readily available for young people, but for me, the institutions were the bands that I was in. When I worked with Clark Terry, that was the beginning of school for me, and Harry Belafonte and Sergio Mendes, they were all my universities. "

" If a song feels good to me, it's not very difficult to make it my own. "

Dianne Reeves

Good

Song

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

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

" Jazz musicians have always taken the standards of their time and performed them with a jazz sensibility. "

" 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. "

" Go out into the world with your passion and love for what you do, and just never give up. "

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

" 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. "

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

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

" 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. "