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

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

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

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

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

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

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