Dianne Reeves

In any event, I'm proud to wear the badge of jazz vocalist if that's what people want to call me; but at the same time, there are many other things I like to do.

Each project that you do is something you believe in for that moment in time.

My junior high school teacher, Bennie Williams, was really more than a music teacher. She taught us poetry. She helped us put on school shows. She did all these kinds of things to help us stand in each other's shoes, and it was a really powerful time. That's when I discovered that I could sing.

I lived in Los Angeles for a long time, and in a lot of ways, I felt like I lived in my car.

And I've found that, you know, the world of music is so vast and so broad, but at the same time, it's easy to find parts of yourself in places that you wouldn't even think that you were, you know?

I never wanted to do anything else, really. I left home at an early age trying to find my voice, my niche in music.

Jazz musicians have always taken the standards of their time and performed them with a jazz sensibility.

Early on, I started with classical voice and had that wonderful foundation. For where I wanted to go at that time, there were no teachers to teach it, so I came up with all kinds of different ways to develop the sound of my voice.

Nina Simone is a musical genius and a rich and precious treasure who paid a heavy price for her artistic freedom.

I've dated a few musicians in my life, and it's kind of always been that way for me. You unite through creativity and share that process and more together.

Some people think that all you do is record, and it's not the case. You take on other projects as well, and you have to live a little bit because it inspires your work.