Cassandra Wilson Quotes

The most common misconception about me is that I'm basically a jazz singer.

One doesn't have to scat to be a jazz singer.

I put out a recording of me singing mostly jazz because I wanted people to know I'm coming from a jazz background.

I am not a jazz singer. I wouldn't place myself on that footing. I wouldn't even enter that arena.

Possibly, I should have been a jazz singer from the beginning.

What I'm doing, I prefer to call that jazz, because it is a beautiful word - I love it.

That's the thing: There are so many art songs in jazz. It's a much more rich experience for the singer than people think.

I consider myself a jazz singer. I think I stick to the roots of improvisation, singing in front of the beat, behind the beat, playing with notes and harmonies.

Sometimes I'll be in circles, and I'll say I'm a jazz singer, and they have no idea what that means.

Dianne Reeves, a famous jazz singer, would be my biggest influence.

I do love singing. I wouldn't say I'm any good, but I definitely love it - especially jazz singing.

I think jazz has given me freedom with my voice.

Chet Faker's a reference to the late Chet Baker. I'm a big fan of his vocal style; it's quite fragile and soft, and that was a style I wanted to take on.

I'm not going to play funk licks on a jazz album. That makes no sense.

If you hear Bing Crosby trying to swing, it doesn't work. He swings like a rusty gate.

Jazz was more of a tool for me to use to enhance my musicality.

Jazz can be so serious, no sense of humor.

I'm not a jazz singer.

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 wanted to make a jazz record. I didn't want it to be a standards record.

As a matter of fact, we put it down because we wanted to be jazz pickers.

Yes, there's a lot of the blues in my playing.

I've always felt myself as being a serious singer.

Jazz is rhythm and meaning.

The old jazz singers or old blues singers, you always just saw them kind of sitting down and singing. They weren't worried as much about their voice sounding perfect. They would make the song kind of fit their voice.