Cassandra Wilson, Grammy-winning jazz vocalist, dies at 70
NPR • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Cassandra Wilson, a renowned jazz vocalist known for her deep contralto voice and genre-defying style, died at age 70 in Jackson, Mississippi; the cause of death was not disclosed.
- Wilson was a 2022 NEA Jazz Master and two-time Grammy winner for Best Jazz Vocal Album, celebrated for her albums New Moon Daughter and Loverly, and her role in Wynton Marsalis' Pulitzer-winning oratorio Blood on the Fields.
- Her music blended jazz, Delta blues, folk-rock, and pop, often recorded in meaningful locations like Clarksville, Mississippi, and featured collaborations with prominent artists and producers throughout her career.
- Born in 1955 to musician and educator parents, Wilson's early influences included Robert Johnson and Joni Mitchell; she studied jazz while earning a degree in mass communications before establishing herself in New York's progressive jazz scene.
- Over her four-decade career, Wilson evolved from straight-ahead jazz standards to experimental and eclectic albums, culminating in her final release, Coming Forth by Day (2015), a tribute to Billie Holiday.
