I am insubordinate by nature. I can't help it.

I’m not gonna sit around and waste my precious divine energy trying to explain and be ashamed of things you think are wrong with me.

You don't have to be fearless to do anything, you can be scared out of your mind.

When people say, "Oh, she plays like a dude," it's usually dudes who are the ones saying it. They're saying, "Oh, she's as good as us." Of course, that's a stupid statement.

Jazz has always been a melting pot of influences and I plan to incorporate them all.

Whoever you are, if you know what you're doing, you don't want other people to overtake the merit of your art.

I fear that I won't get better and that I won't have time to practice. To be called a "jazz musician" - it's a big responsibility.

I just think music is so intrinsically linked with images in the culture that we live in that youll be hard-pressed to have an experience with the music without a preconceived notion.

You can grow up with literally nothing and you don’t suffer if you know you’re loved and valued.

People are more used to seeing men who are masters at an instrument than women.

The benefit of the radio is, something beyond your realm of knowledge can surprise you, can enter your realm of knowledge.

Opportunity is swift of flight but slow to return.

The hard necessity of bringing the judge on the bench down into the dock has been the peculiar responsibility of the writer in all ages of man.

Some versions of patriotism come close to the tribal, which we all want to surpass, and some don't.

I found it incredibly challenging to write clear prose that had the dynamism that I wanted.

Do silly things. Foolishness is a great deal more vital and healthy than our straining and striving after a meaningful life.

If you don't know what you want, you end up with a lot you don't.

You never know how people are gonna receive you and especially a character that's so close to the fans in type...

You can't pick up the telephone and say, 'Connect me with someone else who has a kid with leukemia.'

You cannot be receptive when you are too full of yourself. The less you are, the more you receive. The more you are, the less you receive.

I really struggle to get up in the morning, but I also get my best ideas really late at night, when I'm trying to sleep.