When Sunny Sumter sings, she evokes the bright optimism that bespeaks her name. Although she's heavily influenced by Sarah Vaughan, Sumter is very much a part of her post-Motown bop generation. She's as likely to sing a composition written by Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, or Prince as she is to deliver lovely rendition of the classic American songbook. On this edition of Billy Taylor's Jazz at the Kennedy Center, Dr. Taylor welcomes burgeoning songbird --- Sunny Sumter.

After delivering a shimmering reading of the waltz, "Getting to Know You," Dr. Taylor and Sumter talk briefly about her Washington, D.C. roots and her formative years at the Duke Ellington School. After high school, Sumter continued her musical studies at Howard University, where she studied with among others, the legendary drummer and vocalist Grady Tate, and pianist and composer Geri Allen. When talking about Tate, Sumter notes that he really approached his voice lessons from a singer's perspective rather than a drummer's. In keeping the focus of the conversation of Sumter's early years, Dr. Taylor asks the young vocalist how she got her stage name - Sunny. Sumter confesses that she obtained the nickname when she moved to New York and found herself singing with a reggae band. When the bandleader urged her to come up to the bandstand, he referred to her as "Sunshine." Apparently, Sunshine was a bit too cute for Sumter, so she changed it to "Sunny."

Soon afterwards, Sumter, along with Dr. Taylor's trio fall into a beautiful rendition of Hoagy Carmichael's "Skylark." Considering that "Skylark" is one of the lesser-known tunes in the jazz repetoire, Dr. Taylor asks Sunny how she came about it. She responds with a romantic story about her longing for a love and going to the highest mountain to sing to the sky. During that experience, she witnessed a bird flying and a year later; she came across "Skylark" which she says illustrated her feelings at that time.

The conversation slowly moves towards how Sumter chooses her material, in which she says from a variety of sources. She also talks about her experiences working with saxophonist David Murray, who told her that as she traveled throughout the world that she will naturally incorporate different rhythms into her music. She also talks about the invaluable advice trumpeter and composer Roy Hargrove gave her while she was struggling in New York City. He simply advised her to go back to school and obtain the vocabulary of her science. She quickly demonstrates what good studies combined with passion can do on a swinging version of "They Can't Take That Away From Me."

During the Q&A portion of the show, Dr. Taylor gets the ball rolling by asking Sumter why she continued to persue a career in jazz. She answers by talking about the rich legacy jazz has in the African-American community, and how proud she is to be a part of it. She also offers her perspective of being a woman in jazz. One audience member asks Sumter if she was influenced by the late Betty Carter. Sumter offers a wonderful respond that details her experience with Carter at a Steps Ahead program at Howard University.

Sumter shows her love for Brazilian music with a sterling reading of Antonio Carlos Jobim's classic, "Dindi." Speaking of worldly music, Dr. Taylor asks Sumter about her experiences outside of the U.S. She responds by talking about the importance of being able to stand on your own. The conversation jumps to Sumter's lyrical reinvention of Rodgers and Hart's immortal classic, "My Favorite Things." Sumter joyfully tells the audience that she's loved the tune ever since she heard the legendary saxophonist John Coltrane play it, but she had to supply the lyrics with some of her own personal favorite things which didn't exactly include raindrops, roses, and whiskers.

Being as versatile as she is, Sumter talks about her willingness to sing tunes more associated with R&B and gospel as she is with jazz. She continues the conversation by talking about her love for Brazilian music, in particular the songs of Ivan Lins. As a fitting closing song, Sumter and Dr. Taylor's trio exits out with Bob Haymes' "That's All."