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.

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

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

I did grow up in a rough neighborhood in Portland, which is an abstract concept for anybody who's rolled through Portland because now it looks like a TV set, literally.

The music that I make is pretty sincere; it's from my heart and I love it, and what just happened is more people have started to connect with my heart, and I haven't followed some kind of marketing scheme.

There is an assumption that if you're young and pretty, you will get all these opportunities that are way beyond your musical foundation.

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