16 Quotes by Gretchen Parlato

I've always surrounded myself with other artists. My close friends, people I've been in relationships with - I went to an arts high school - even my elementary school was arts based.

Ultimately, I think there's this umbrella term of jazz, and what's cool about not just what's happening with my music but this general sense of what's happening with this generation of musicians, is it's a very broad term, and we can incorporate all types of music, and we can be influenced and inspired by all kinds of sounds.

I might sound like the weird artist hippy girl or whatever, but I don't have a complaint about what jazz is or what I'm doing with music. And that's more of a philosophy on my life. I could find things that maybe could shift or change, but ultimately, it's like that's not a good way to live our lives and think about what we do.

I feel like I was always singing. Since I could speak, I could sing. It came very naturally. In school, I was always singing in choruses and choirs. I always loved to sing; it was something to fun to do.

It's fun to use all of my range; there are so many different colors and textures that come out, revealing different parts of my voice. I know what my voice is capable of, and I try to fit it to each song, evoke a mood.

I don't sing very loud, which some people have given me trouble about, but we all have to figure out what our voices are, embrace that.

As an artist, what you do represents who you are. Coming from a genuine, honest place - that's what I'm trying to do.