I was never interested in singing in the church or school. I was more interested in becoming a musician.

I cringed when I heard myself described as a Jazz singer. I've always thought of myself as a Jazz vocalist.

Being black, I'm involved in the reparations movement. It's focused toward the African-American audience. We could begin to heal.

Miles Davis was doing something inherently African, something that has to do with all forms of American music, not just jazz.

My grandmother sang, too, and she was really loud. It was this wild kind of singing. I count her among my influences.

My father had all kinds of instruments in the house that he would hide from my mother. He bought them through mail order!

Miles Davis was a master. In every phase of his career, he understood that this music was a tribute to the African muse.

I'm always imagining some sort of story behind the song, even the ones I haven't written. I'm actively engaging in playacting.

Everything I do is collaborative. It's just my way. I'm really very interested in how the other musicians perceive the song.

I'm always looking for ways to develop as a Jazz artist, to find different ways of using my voice.

Here, in this quiet place we own, worlds are born.

A simple way to be grateful is to close your eyes for a minute and think of those who never got a chance to open them.

The typical imperative from biology is not "Thou shalt..., " but "If ... then ... else.

The result showed the wisdom of your orders.

These new bands sound like Gang of Four — if Gang of Four sucked.

Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust.

I want the people of the Philippines to be happy, even if they have nothing.

The world should be full of love. Love. Love is the most important thing in the world.

The elements are cricket's presiding geniuses.

You know when you first get rich, and you, like, just buy everything that you see? I did that for several years. And I have sheds full of things, maybe sometimes nine copies of the same thing.

The tartness of his face sours ripe grapes.