American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson dies at 70
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Jazz singer Cassandra Wilson was celebrated for her rich, expressive contralto voice in a career spanning three decades.
PHOTO: AFP
- American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson died peacefully at age 70, surrounded by family and friends in Jackson, Mississippi.
- She won two Grammy Awards for Best Jazz Vocal Performance and Best Jazz Vocal Album during her 30-year career.
- Wilson was praised for her unique voice and blending of jazz with folkloric, R&B and experimental music, influencing many artistes.
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WASHINGTON – Grammy-winning American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson died on Sept 2 in her home town of Jackson, in the US state of Mississippi, her manager said. She was 70.
“Cassandra Wilson transitioned peacefully at home, surrounded by family, close friends and her manager,” Robert Torre wrote in a statement, hailing her as a “legendary jazz artiste”.
The statement did not disclose a cause of death. Wilson’s family and close friends asked for privacy, Torre said.
A singer-songwriter and producer, Wilson was celebrated for her rich, expressive contralto voice in a career spanning three decades.
In 1997, the singer received the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance with her New Moon Daughter album, and Loverly won the award for Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2009.
Wilson performed in a leading role in Blood On The Fields, a 1997 oratorio by Wynton Marsalis which became the first jazz work to win a Pulitzer Prize.
She also collaborated with saxophonists Steve Coleman and Greg Osby and hip-hop group The Roots.
“I learnt so much from her and I am so sad she has passed away,” musician Jon Batiste wrote in a tribute on social media.
“She had an unmistakable vocal tone and phrasing, and her approach of weaving folkloric, R&B and diasporic music together with experimental and popular genres had a major impact on me.
“She sounded like the south.” AFP
