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" I grew up with great mentors in my life who helped me become the singer I am today. "

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" 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. "

" The biggest thing is to just keep your voice in shape so that when the emotion hits, it's there to have the colors to paint those pictures with the lyrics as well as the sound. "

" I come from a family of musicians. "

" Even in a world with much sadness, at its essence, life is beautiful. "

" I grew up listening to all kinds of music. When I came up, you would hear people like Marvin Gaye talking about Sarah Vaughan. You would go to a show and see Ella Fitzgerald performing the music of the Beatles. "

" 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. "

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

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

" I'm always inspired to push forward. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

" 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. "

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

" 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. "

" I believe that music should really be without boundaries. "

" My demographic is very broad. Once they come, they had an idea about jazz, and then they hear me, and they come back with sisters, brothers, and kids. My audience looks like America to me. "

" 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. "

" Being from Colorado is, to me, very, very special. I'm just very thankful to be here. I'm also thankful to be a part of the history of this state. "

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

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

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

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

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

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

" There is a certain kind of fire that happens when you fall in love with a musician. I guess you understand one another because you're connected by a creative desire. "

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

" 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 always have a little bit of Brazil and New Orleans in my band. "

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