Grammy-winning jazz singer Cassandra Wilson dies at 70

Wilson leaves behind a distinctive Jazz legacy as a multi-time Grammy winner who had one of the most distinctive voices in the genre’s history.

Two-time Grammy Award-winning jazz singer, songwriter and producer Cassandra Wilson, known for her distinct contralto voice and ability to move between jazz, blues, folk, R&B, country and other musical traditions, has died. She was 70.

A Mississippi native, Wilson died Tuesday morning in Jackson, according to Hinds County Coroner Jeramiah Howard. According to The Associated Press, her manager said Wilson died peacefully at home surrounded by family, close friends and her manager.

Born and raised in Jackson to musician Herman B. Fowlkes and teacher Mary Fowlkes, Wilson began piano lessons at age 6 and later played clarinet in marching bands. She performed in coffeehouses and cover bands while studying at Millsaps College and Jackson State University.

Her career took her from Mississippi to New Orleans and eventually New York, where she joined Steve Coleman’s M-Base Collective in the 1980s and 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 work also reflected a deep connection to the Black musical traditions that shaped her upbringing. Her music drew from blues, R&B and folk while incorporating experimental and popular sounds. In 2015, Wilson performed a special concert at the Apollo Theater commemorating the 100th birthday of Billie Holiday. She released “Coming Forth by Day” that same year as a tribute to the legendary jazz and blues singer.

Among those remembering Wilson was Grammy-winning musician Jon Batiste, who described her music as sounding like “the South.” Batiste said Wilson’s distinctive tone and her ability to weave folkloric, R&B and diasporic music into experimental and popular genres had a major influence on him. Jackson Mayor John Horhn called Wilson an “extraordinary native daughter” and said the city had lost a singular musical voice.

Wilson’s death marks the loss of one of the most distinctive voices in modern jazz, but her recordings and influence ensure that her sound will continue to travel.