My father had all kinds of instruments in the house that he would hide from my mother. He bought them through mail order!

I cringed when I heard myself described as a Jazz singer. I've always thought of myself as a Jazz vocalist.

Being black, I'm involved in the reparations movement. It's focused toward the African-American audience. We could begin to heal.

Miles Davis was doing something inherently African, something that has to do with all forms of American music, not just jazz.

I was never interested in singing in the church or school. I was more interested in becoming a musician.

My grandmother sang, too, and she was really loud. It was this wild kind of singing. I count her among my influences.

Miles Davis was a master. In every phase of his career, he understood that this music was a tribute to the African muse.

I'm always imagining some sort of story behind the song, even the ones I haven't written. I'm actively engaging in playacting.

Everything I do is collaborative. It's just my way. I'm really very interested in how the other musicians perceive the song.

I'm always looking for ways to develop as a Jazz artist, to find different ways of using my voice.

Here, in this quiet place we own, worlds are born.

I've reached the age of self-knowledge, so I don't know anything. People who claim that they know something are responsible for most of the fuss in the world.

A mathematical proof is beautiful, but when you're finished, it's really only about one thing. A story can be about many things.

Honestly, I'm just trying to live day to day

The person doing the worrying experiences it as a form of love; the person being worried about experiences it as a form of control.

Strangers talking over piles of books do not remain strangers for long.

I find many drawbacks of myself. But, each time when I visit Lourdes, I receive a lesson of reconciliation. When you see ill people or invalids around, you realize that it is a sin to complain!

We need to redefine "smart" when talking about things Obama does, 'cause in my world he doesn't do smart things. He doesn't do intelligent things or wise things. He's doing destructive things.

By writing, you learn to write.

Maintaining checks and balances on the power of the Judiciary Branch and the other two branches is vital to keep the form of government set up by our Founding Fathers.

The power of music that poetry lacks is the ability to persuade without argument.