Gretchen Parlato

I might sound like the weird artist hippy girl or whatever, but I don't have a complaint about what jazz is or what I'm doing with music. And that's more of a philosophy on my life. I could find things that maybe could shift or change, but ultimately, it's like that's not a good way to live our lives and think about what we do. ”

As an artist, what you do represents who you are. Coming from a genuine, honest place - that's what I'm trying to do. ”

I don't sing very loud, which some people have given me trouble about, but we all have to figure out what our voices are, embrace that. ”

It's like, whenever I do any kind of cover, if it's a jazz piece or pop cover, I want to honor the original and make sure that the bulk and the juice of what makes that so great is there, but take it to a different place. ”

It's fun to use all of my range; there are so many different colors and textures that come out, revealing different parts of my voice. I know what my voice is capable of, and I try to fit it to each song, evoke a mood. ”

You want to have a feeling when you sing that you just love singing; you love the feeling of singing, and you love this feeling of this voice coming out of your body into this world. It's about really getting that most beautiful, pure, centered tone, thinking about the story of each song and the lyrics, and connecting your own life to that story. ”

It's really fun to get into that process of creating an album and telling a story. I really love it. ”

I've always surrounded myself with other artists. My close friends, people I've been in relationships with - I went to an arts high school - even my elementary school was arts based. ”

The meditative, calm sound is a reflection of my personality. I've got a silly and a crazy side, but it makes sense the music would come across that way. I do yoga every day and try to keep a sense of peace and calm in my life. I don't have a lot of frantic energy. ”

For me, the best way to be as an artist is to be completely yourself, letting that vulnerability come through. ”