Even in a world with much sadness, at its essence, life is beautiful.
Go out into the world with your passion and love for what you do, and just never give up.
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.
Oh my gosh, I love Jon Hendricks.
I've always had really wonderful people around me. But early on, I remember I would walk into a session or go do something with some musicians, and they viewed me, basically, as their chick singer.
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.
My records are one thing. My live performances are something totally different because they're very improvised performances.
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.
Herb Wong was an incredible man. We met when I was performing with Clark Terry at the Wichita Jazz Festival around 1974.
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.
Art is a direct reflection of the life you live. What you experience comes out in your work.
I never called myself a jazz singer. I just call myself a vocalist because I love to sing all kinds of things.
I feel proud of my journey. I wouldn't change it.
I think jazz is the foundation for a lot of great musicians, and then after that, you know, it's this broad expression of things that really have influenced and addressed your life.
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.
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.
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 love New York City because there's something to do 24/7, something that will make you see things in a whole different light. Like they say, it's the city that never sleeps.
I loved singing something like 'I've Got My Eye On You' when it's really about the FBI. It turns a love song into something else!
