Dianne Reeves

I think jazz is the foundation for a lot of great musicians, and then after that, you know, it's this broad expression of things that really have influenced and addressed your life.

Jazz is such a living art form. It happens right in the moment. You weave a story by changing certain elements and components.

Art and culture and all of these things - they really matter. They shape your individuality.

The biggest thing is to just keep your voice in shape so that when the emotion hits, it's there to have the colors to paint those pictures with the lyrics as well as the sound.

I don't like a lot of monitors on stage. I like the real raw sound of the open piano.

Singers like Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar are very conscious of what's going on around them, and they're waking up lot of young people with that knowledge. They bring their enlightenment to the world; the world that is buying their records.

Too many people judge a singer like Beyonce by what they see on the surface. Knowing the musicians she's worked with and how she works, I have a lot of respect for her.

My life has been going in ways I never could have dreamed of - doing the closing celebration for the Olympic Games and being appointed the creative chair for jazz at the L.A. Philharmonic. So I've just decided I'll go with my flow and be very prepared.

I come from a family of storytellers. My grandmother was great at telling stories, and my mother was an amazing storyteller.

I come from a family of musicians.

I feel proud of my journey. I wouldn't change it.

I listen to music all the time, and a lot of the things I cover are the standards of my time, and they work for me.