I think that when I started singing, I didn't know what I wanted to do; I only knew what I didn't want to do.

My mother would say, 'Stay ready so you don't have to get ready.' I spent a lot of my early years preparing for beautiful moments that have unfolded in my life so far.

The biggest thing is, when I was coming up, the thing that made you wonderful was your uniqueness. People celebrated that.

When I was in junior high school, I knew I really wanted to sing.

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

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

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

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

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?

I love Denver.

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

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

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.

Oh my gosh, I love Jon Hendricks.

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

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.

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 think an artist who has it in their heart to do or say something, they'll say it. It's not something that's mandatory, but it will come out.

Art is a direct reflection of the life you live. What you experience comes out in your work.

When I moved to Los Angeles, right away I met all kinds of musicians.

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

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

The thing that I tell young people is everybody is unique in their approach to the music, and you have to protect that.

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.

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.

In high school, we had a really great jazz program that I finally was able to be a part of. They only wanted instrumentalists; they didn't want any singers. But I made my way in, and I remember the conductor of the band wrote a lot of arrangements and asked me what I wanted to sing.

Early on, I started with classical voice and had that wonderful foundation. For where I wanted to go at that time, there were no teachers to teach it, so I came up with all kinds of different ways to develop the sound of my voice.

I'm always inspired to push forward.

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

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.

I feel proud of my journey. I wouldn't change it.

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.

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 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.

I've dated a few musicians in my life, and it's kind of always been that way for me. You unite through creativity and share that process and more together.

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

I came up at a time in the late '60s, early '70s where music was without boundaries. You'd go into a music store, and the music was in alphabetical order. I hadn't heard of that word 'genre.'

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

I had really great art classes. Really great art teachers. Arts played a very important role in having a place to express yourself uniquely.

Some people think that all you do is record, and it's not the case. You take on other projects as well, and you have to live a little bit because it inspires your work.

The music industry is changing. You only hear a sprinkling of big names, but there are a lot of really wonderful young musicians with great voices and lyrical content who have refined their sound. They're up in here, so don't think they're not. There's this wealth of talent below the surface that's ready to explode.

I knew what the story behind 'Dreams' was. It was about Stevie Knicks' relationship. But when I sing it, it's about sharing some sage advice with somebody.

I like coming home and sharing things I've tasted or seen.

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

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

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

I've always liked a lot of different kinds of music.

Too many people judge a singer like Beyonce by what they see on the surface. Knowing the musicians she's worked with and how she works, I have a lot of respect for her.

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.