Grammy-Winning Jazz Singer Cassandra Wilson Dies at 70

Cassandra Wilson, the two-time Grammy Award-winning jazz singer, songwriter and producer known for her distinctive contralto voice and genre-bending music, has died at 70.

Wilson died Tuesday morning at her home in Jackson, Mississippi, surrounded by family, friends and her manager, according to a statement from her manager. Hinds County Coroner Jeramiah Howard confirmed her death.

Often praised as one of America’s finest singers, Wilson expanded the boundaries of jazz by blending blues, folk, pop, R&B and country influences with traditional jazz. Her deep, soulful voice and distinctive phrasing became hallmarks of her music.

Born and raised in Jackson, Wilson began piano lessons at age 6 and later played clarinet in marching bands. She performed in coffeehouses and cover bands while attending Millsaps College and Jackson State University.

In the early 1980s, she studied under jazz musicians in New Orleans before moving to New York and joining Steve Coleman’s M-Base Collective, where she became its principal vocalist.

Wilson received four Grammy nominations and won Best Jazz Vocal Album twice, for New Moon Daughter in 1997 and Loverly in 2009.

Her final album, Coming Forth by Day, was released in 2015 as a tribute to Billie Holiday. That year, Wilson also performed at the Apollo Theater in New York to mark Holiday’s 100th birthday.

In 2022, Wilson was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, one of the highest honors in American jazz.

Musicians and leaders paid tribute to her following her death. Grammy-winning artist Jon Batiste praised Wilson’s unique sound and Mississippi roots, saying, “Cassandra Wilson sounded like the South.”

Jackson Mayor John Horhn called Wilson “an extraordinary native daughter” and said her music carried the sound, spirit and history of Mississippi to audiences around the world.