Madeleine Peyroux Quotes (19 Quotes)

It was all heady stuff for the then 22-year-old, as she headlined jazz festivals and opened tours for some of the biggest names in the business. It was great, ... I got to perform with fantastic musicians. I got to see Nina Simone live. I could've kept running with it, but instead I stepped back and took a breather.

My father had a varied ear, from Hank Williams to Ravel.

My parents were older than normal when they had me, and had been very into the politics of the 1960s, so I was brought up in that atmosphere.

Once I was in the city, I really enjoyed it. Just to experience things. There was so much new stuff.

It's been a good eight years.

I love playing to people and seeing them react.

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 was very lucky. Things happened, both bad and good, but I never got into real, deep trouble. But it wore me down. By the time I was 18, I was done. I didn't want to live the life any more. I needed to develop past the point that busking takes you to.

Anxious record company bosses and her management company have been trying to contact her for nearly a week to no avail. She has simply disappeared.

It's work. I recognize that it's work, and it can be hard work, so making it a commodity is not so hard to believe.

My father's record collection was full of New Orleans music of all kinds. I used to listen to the radio in New York, and all there was on it at the time was Madonna and Michael Jackson, so it sort of passed me by.

Seeing how those companies operate, it didn't amount to a massive vote of confidence in their artists. There was talk of me going to Columbia after that, but nothing happened. I got disillusioned, and I pulled back.

Things changed so quickly. The Atlantic jazz department just went from under us.

Jazz really does try to include everything. It's always been popular music. But the wonderful thing about jazz is its willingness to take chances.

proving impossible to track down.

When I got to Paris, it was a different world. French radio-another universe from U.S. radio. I found music that could sustain me. I found jazz and other music that I could call mine.

It's wonderful to work with someone with mentor status.

It's great to have other people's help. Then the music gets heard. There's a lot more commercial support for that now.

I'm very conscious of developing my singing, technically and stylistically. I want it to become more individual, express more of me. That's my goal. These songs are steps along that way.