Sometimes mistakes are the best thing that can happen, because they might lift you...out of your complacency, and open your mind up to a whole other ….

The audience is like my instrument. It's not just me up there, it's collaborative..

Musicians are the architects of heaven..

When I'm on stage by myself, I don't have to think about anything. I don't have to worry about anything because I'm not responsible for anything exce….

But, if there's any aspect of my career that needs attention, it's writing..

It's not that I don't love the song. My songs are like my children: some you want around and some you want to send off to college as soon as possible..

I want to write a book of poetry, as well as children's stories..

Seriously though, my father was the first African American to sign a contract with the Metropolitan Opera so I grew up with classical music and jazz ….

Here's a little song I wrote. You might want to sing it note for note. Don't worry, be happy..

I don't want anything to get in the way of me and my singing. I want my mind as clear as possible..

Well, I started conducting kind of by accident. I wanted to give myself a special birthday present for my fortieth birthday, and I was living in San ….

I think we listen to music because we want to be changed. Music is not solely for our entertainment. Music has such tremendous power to bring joy. To….

Whenever I'm onstage, I try my best not to think that I'm performing. It's simply another part of my day..

Improvisation is the courage to move from one note to the next..

When we're doing our lessons, the teacher doesn't say, 'Ready, set, work,' They say, 'Ready, set, play,' and I always took that word seriously..

Inviting audiences to open up and hear things differently is an important part of what I do. But I still love to sing songs with words, too..

I did the one concert, and I was not bitten by the conducting bug, and I thought I was done, but then the phone started to ring, and gradually, over ….

My father was a very disciplined singer who worked hard at his craft, and I was around that growing up..

Music is still part of my spiritual life. Sometimes I sing my prayers. When I get audiences singing, I hope I'm helping them feel connected to someth….

Then I came up with this crazy idea just to walk out on the stage with no band at all and just start singing whatever came to mind. I actually fought….

I try not to "perform." I try to come on stage and be myself, to sing the way I would in a room by myself, to interact with the audience the way I wo….