Esther Satterfield discusses her break from performing

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Esther Satterfield discusses her early musical influences

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Esther Satterfield discusses her introduction to jazz

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Q: “What sort of music was it you were listening to originally – gospel music and that sort of thing, or…”

A: “Well, when I was growing up, I was listening to the stuff that was happening on the radio, you know. And that meant Johnny Ace, you know, and people like Faye Adams and Louis Armstrong and Billie Holiday. When I was very young and then, of course, Mahalia Jackson was a major influence. But the artist that I remember having the most influence on me in terms of my awareness of myself as a singer was Dionne Warwick and I hesitate to say that because a lot of people tend to compare us and I think there may be some similarity in the quality of our voices. But at the same time, I think that she was a fabulous – she is a fabulous artist. She sings and that's what she does. It's not like she uses other gimmicks to get her artistry across. That's what she does, she sings and I was very impressed by that when I was a kid. You know, I listened to her. There was nothing else. She didn't dance, she didn't do anything. She just stood there and sang and I was very impressed by that.”