Quotes from Dianne Reeves

I had aunts who played piano and sang and also were entertainers, so music was very much a part of my life.

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.

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.

I never called myself a jazz singer. I just call myself a vocalist because I love to sing all kinds of things.

The music industry is changing. You only hear a sprinkling of big names, but there are a lot of really wonderful young musicians with great voices and lyrical content who have refined their sound. They're up in here, so don't think they're not. There's this wealth of talent below the surface that's ready to explode.

Go out into the world with your passion and love for what you do, and just never give up.

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.

I believe that music should really be without boundaries.

Brazilian music has been a part of almost every record I've done, and I'd eventually like to record an entire album of Brazilian music.

There is a certain kind of fire that happens when you fall in love with a musician. I guess you understand one another because you're connected by a creative desire.

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

I'm a great cook. People have asked me to do a cookbook.

Jazz musicians have always tended to have cult followings, which is pretty wonderful.

One of the things that I love about Sarah Vaughan is that she was always very current.

I grew up listening to all kinds of music. When I came up, you would hear people like Marvin Gaye talking about Sarah Vaughan. You would go to a show and see Ella Fitzgerald performing the music of the Beatles.

My mother would say, 'Stay ready so you don't have to get ready.' I spent a lot of my early years preparing for beautiful moments that have unfolded in my life so far.

My mother was actually born in Toledo and raised in Detroit.

I've always liked a lot of different kinds of music.

Music is a conversation between the audience and me, and I love that about my profession.

I had a few celebrity crushes when I was growing up, including Eddie Kendricks from the Temptations. And I loved Marvin Gaye - I thought he was everything and instantly fell for his voice.

Herb Wong was an incredible man. We met when I was performing with Clark Terry at the Wichita Jazz Festival around 1974.

I'm always inspired to push forward.

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.

Being from Colorado is, to me, very, very special. I'm just very thankful to be here. I'm also thankful to be a part of the history of this state.