Every day has its emotional difficulties. I miss my mother whether I'm singing her music or not.

Jazz is not just music, it's a way of life, it's a way of being, a way of thinking. . . . the new inventive phrases we make up to describe things - all that to me is jazz just as much as the music we play.

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," a song that was written for Simone, she confronted the band's lead singer, Eric Burdon. "So you're the honky," she said, "who stole my song and got a hit out of it?

I don't like to go to strange places.

I had heard blues and jazz all my life but I was never aware that it was associated with nightclubs and drinking.

You've got to learn to leave the table When love's no longer being served".

Jazz is a white term to define black people. My music is black classical music.