I was kind of known as a ballad singer. People would send ballads. Some of them would go over my shoulder and float off the top of my head, and I just didn't feel anything. Then I would hear a song that would absolutely shake me.

I wanted to make a jazz record. I didn't want it to be a standards record.

I say what's in my heart, and I do it in my concerts.

It seems that jazz is more cerebral and more mathematical in a sense.

If I'm driving to L.A. and have anxiety about making the drive, if I've got Peggy with me, we're cool.

I recorded my first jazz record in the '70s.

I've got my whole life. There's a lifetime of experience, a lifetime of experiencing the road and the music and different players. It makes me a richer human being. I have a greater source of information to tap into, a wealth of life.