ABSTRACT: 01:10 Girtley reflects on her childhood, during which she sang strictly religious music. It was Dr. Michael White who introduced her to jazz and the blues, which she eventually decided she could sing without going to hell, though she avoids “risqué blues.” 04:15 Demonstration 06:46 Girtley discusses her childhood influences, explaining that in her youth music was everywhere in New Orleans. She got baptized at four in order to join the church choir, and started piano lessons when she was seven. She confesses that she and her sisters snuck in unsanctioned music like the Supremes while her mother was out at the grocery store on Saturdays. 10:10 Girtley admits that her taste for non-secular music constitutes a parallel to Mahalia Jackson. 11:05 Girtley explains that she dreaded piano lessons as a child, but at the age of ten or twelve got invited by her piano teacher to play at a local Baptist funeral. She was amazed to get paid, and decided then and there to be a musician. More than finances, it was seeing that she could touch people that motivated her. 16:51 Girtley remembers how her cousin, Marva Wright, left the church choir when the pastor gave her an ultimatum about her side singing “for the devil” in the French Quarter. 18:25 Girtley explains that she became familiar with Mahalia Jackson’s music without knowing who she was, through her mother’s repeated listening to her recordings. She began doing tributes to her when she was living in Washington DC. 20:19 Recording, Mahalia Jackson, “Come on Children Let’s Sing” 21:01 Girtley tells how she can play something back after hearing it, having been “gifted with a pretty good ear.” 21:53 Girtley speaks to her variety of piano teachers, and tells how she got into opera, which she was initially deterred from by the lack of her father’s backing but ultimately turned against because her teacher asked her, as a ninth grader, to abstain from talking to boys on the phone. 25:00 Demonstration, opera singing 26:04 Girtley explains that she has “an internal mic,” comparing herself to her great-grandfather, who had what was called a calling voice, summoning people to church with his singing unamplified. 27:30 Girtley gives some background on Michael White and explains their annual ‘The Sacred and the Sinful’ Jazz Fest program, exploring the common chord through gospel, the blues, and jazz. 29:17 Recording, Billie and De De Pierce, “off the Gulf Coast Blues” 30:07 Demonstration, “Off the Gulf Coast Blues” 32:47 Girtley speaks to her albums. 33:20 Demonstration, “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands” 34:11 Girtley says that her current gospel is letting people know, through music, that there is a god. 38:15 Girtley speaks to her touring experience, emphasizing how much she enjoys it. 39:29 Demonstration, “A Closer Walk With Thee”