Everybody wants to be somebody fancy. Even if they're shy.

I can no more understand the totality of God than the pancake I made for breakfast understands the complexity of me

I listened so hard because it felt like, while she was telling me stories, she was massaging my soul, letting me know that I was not alone, that I will never have to be alone, that there are friends and family and churches and coffee shops. I was not going to be cast into space.

If you listen to Donny Hathaway, he had a lot of jazz elements in the way he sang, ... For me, the two styles borrow from each other so much that sometimes it's hard for me to make a distinction. When you hear Lalah sing the combination, that's when she really shines -- when she's allowed to dip into her jazz when she wants to and then get soulful and do the R&B thing.

Like everybody I have many different sides.

I pull them out from time to time depending on the vibe, ... That's a great thing about jazz: We leave it a little space so that we have the opportunity to go where the moment takes us.