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" 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. "

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" I don't like a lot of monitors on stage. I like the real raw sound of the open piano. "

" I have a sketch of an idea and I never really talk about: perhaps do another jazz record, but with other elements involved. "

" I had a few celebrity crushes when I was growing up, including Eddie Kendricks from the Temptations. And I loved Marvin Gaye - I thought he was everything and instantly fell for his voice. "

" Anything that had to do with music is what I wanted to do. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" Your voice is not your instrument. Your voice is the character that you build, your innermost feelings, the things that you want to say, and your instrument is the vehicle that you use to carry the message. "

" 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. "

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

" 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. "

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

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

" I think people have come to know that I am not comfortable in a box, you know, and that I love music. "

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

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

" My records are one thing. My live performances are something totally different because they're very improvised performances. "

" I remember my grandmother used to always say, 'Don't put all your eggs in one basket.' But when I realized that music was inside of me, I decided I'm putting all my eggs in one basket. "

" 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. "

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

" And I've found that, you know, the world of music is so vast and so broad, but at the same time, it's easy to find parts of yourself in places that you wouldn't even think that you were, you know? "

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

" I never wanted to do anything else, really. I left home at an early age trying to find my voice, my niche in music. "

" I come from a family of storytellers. My grandmother was great at telling stories, and my mother was an amazing storyteller. "

" In any event, I'm proud to wear the badge of jazz vocalist if that's what people want to call me; but at the same time, there are many other things I like to do. "

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

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

" I really enjoy going out with my jazz group. That's something that I don't ever want to stop doing. "

" People think jazz music is all standards and the Great American Songbook. But it's really about the sensibility, the feel you bring to the music. "

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