I have a cultured manner of speaking..

When I choose material for an album all these songs I grew up with pour into my head..

The pressure of show business is on all the time and show business is a fickle business. Whatever is popular now - that's all that counts. I have to ….

What kept me sane was knowing that things would change, and it was a question of keeping myself together until they did..

Once I understood Bach's music, I wanted to be a concert pianist. Bach made me dedicate my life to music, and it was that teacher who introduced me t….

I try to swim every damn day I can, and I've learned to scuba dive and snorkel..

I applied for a scholarship to Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. I knew I was good enough, but they turned me down. And it took me about six….

This may be a dream, but I'll say it anyway: I was supposed to be married last year, and I bought a gown. When I meet Nelson Mandela, I shall put on ….

My name sounds French but that's just a stage name..

This is the world you have made yourself, now you have to live in it..

Jazz is a white term to define black people. My music is black classical music..

I would like a man now who is rich, and who can give me a boat - a sailboat. I want to own it and let him pay for it. My first love is the sea and wa….

Music is a gift and a burden I've had since I can remember who I was..

It's logical that people from bad times will reflect their feelings in their communication. Music is part of the communication. If you lived it, you ….

It's a new dawn, it's a new day...and I'm feeling good..

How do you explain what it feels like to get on the stage and make poetry that you know sinks into the hearts and souls of people who are unable to e….

From the beginning, it has been a no-no for a black man to touch a white woman..

It is difficult to retain your standards with the pressure of trying to make money, which always has its rules...It's hard to walk the tightrope of d….

That is why we fly from the inner void, since God might steal into it. It is not the pursuit of pleasure and the aversion for effort which causes sin….

I think the rich are too rich and the poor are too poor. I don't think the black people are going to rise at all; I think most of them are going to d….

What is love but a prelude to sorrow...with heartache ahead for your goal..