Jazz vocalist Cassandra Wilson dies at 70
Two-time Grammy winner Cassandra Wilson passed away at home at age 70, leaving a legacy of innovative jazz recordings and collaborations.
Cassandra Wilson, a two-time Grammy-winning jazz singer known for her work with the Roots, Angelique Kidjo and many others, died peacefully at home on Wednesday, her manager Robert Torre said. Wilson was 70.
Born in Jackson, Mississippi, on Dec. 4, 1955, she began playing piano at six and was performing professionally by her late teens. After earning a mass-communications degree from Jackson State University, she moved to New York in 1982, where she co-founded the M-Base Collective with saxophonist Steve Coleman. Wilson credited Coleman with reshaping her approach to rhythm and improvisation.
She released her debut solo album, Point of View, in 1986 and gained wider recognition with the acoustic-leaning Blue Light ’til Dawn (1992) and New Moon Daughter (1995), both featuring reinterpretations of songs by Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell and others. Subsequent releases such as Rendezvous (1997) and Traveling Miles (1999) continued her blend of standards and original material. Her final album, Coming Forth by Day (2015), paid tribute to Billie Holiday on the centennial of Holiday’s birth.
Wilson’s collaborations spanned jazz and beyond, including recordings with Steve Coleman, Greg Osby, Wynton Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Elvis Costello and John Legend. She appeared on the Roots’ tracks “Silent Treatment” and “One Shine.”
"From Steve Coleman, I learned to tear a piece of music apart and get away from standard approaches," Wilson told Time in 2001.
"I continue to choose the path I take musically, and it’s not motivated by becoming famous or having a lot of money," she said to The New York Times in 1994.
Wilson earned four Grammy nominations, winning Best Jazz Vocal Album for New Moon Daughter (1997) and Loverly (2009). Her honors also included the Django D’Or, the Edison Music Award and a Mississippi Blues Trail marker.