My mother was the worst kind of stage mother. She would make me and my younger sister and brother little duckling costumes and put us in kiddie shows.

Certainly, jazz has become more of a niche, which is surprising, because it's our music. It's the national music of America.

Contrary to the norm, as my technique improved my voice became higher.

For my own singing, I used to be attracted by the baroque, the flashier the better, but now I prefer a simpler, purer style.

I cannot imagine a more satisfying calling than my own: beauty, humanity, and history every day, combined with the cathartic joy of singing.

I do everything in the third person. Performance is about being someone else.

Everybody's a work in progress. I'm a work in progress. I mean, I've never arrived. I'm still learning all the time.