[It was all heady stuff for the then 22-year-old, as she headlined jazz festivals and opened tours for some of the biggest names in the business.] It was great, ... I got to perform with fantastic musicians. I got to see Nina Simone live. I could've kept running with it, but instead I stepped back and took a breather. |
Anxious record company bosses and her management company have been trying to contact her for nearly a week to no avail. She has simply disappeared. |
I could spend my life as an anarchist, but to completely disassociate myself... doesn't solve any of the problems. |
I listened to Billie Holiday a lot in order to learn to sing. She remains one of the extraordinary jazz singers. But my intent is to become my own voice, to be able to interpret these songs in my own way. |
I love playing to people and seeing them react. |
I'm very conscious of developing my singing, technically and stylistically. I want it to become more individual, express more of me. That's my goal. These songs are steps along that way. |
It was great. I got to perform with fantastic musicians. I got to see Nina Simone live. I could've kept running with it, but instead I stepped back and took a breather. |
It's been a good eight years. |
It's great to have other people's help. Then the music gets heard. There's a lot more commercial support for that now. |
It's wonderful to work with someone with mentor status. |
It's work. I recognize that it's work, and it can be hard work, so making it a commodity is not so hard to believe. |
Jazz really does try to include everything. It's always been popular music. But the wonderful thing about jazz is its willingness to take chances. |
My father had a varied ear, from Hank Williams to Ravel. |
My father's record collection was full of New Orleans music of all kinds. I used to listen to the radio in New York, and all there was on it at the time was Madonna and Michael Jackson, so it sort of passed me by. |
My parents were older than normal when they had me, and had been very into the politics of the 1960s, so I was brought up in that atmosphere. |