People are more used to seeing men who are masters at an instrument than women. 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. It's totally stereotypical to say, 'We have an advantage on this, and if anyone else can do it well, it's only because they're like us.' I think more men are starting to learn that this attitude is totally hollow and based in imagination. As more women are involved in music, this kind of thing gets said less and less.

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

My name means 'hope' in Spanish and it's a name I want to live up to.

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

It's weird sometimes to have people not see me or see what I do.

Up-and-coming musicians can easily reach out and find a loving teacher, and that's definitely what happened to me.

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.