Two-time Grammy Award-winning jazz singer, songwriter and producer Cassandra Wilson died at her home in her native Jackson, Mississippi, on Tuesday morning. She was 70.
A cause of death was not given.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Cassandra Wilson, the Grammy Award-winning and legendary jazz artist. Cassandra Wilson transitioned peacefully at home, surrounded by family, close friends, and her manager,” her manager, Robert Torre, said in a statement to jazz radio station WBGO on Wednesday, Sept. 2.
Wilson was known for her deep contralto and unique singing style. She is described as “a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field” by incorporating blues, country, and folk music into her work.
Wilson won two Grammys, and was named “America’s Best Singer” by Time magazine in 2001.
She began studying music as a child in Jackson, MS. She attended Millsaps College and Jackson State University and graduated with a degree in mass communications.
In 1981, Wilson moved to New Orleans to work as assistant public affairs director for the local television station, WDSU. She continued honing her musical talents with mentors including Earl Turbinton, Alvin Batiste, and Ellis Marsalis.
Wilson moved to New York, where she was one of the founders of the M-Base collective in Brooklyn, and soon became the group’s lead vocalist.
Her distinctive voice earned her four Grammy nominations and 2 wins for best jazz vocal album in 1997 for New Moon Daughter and 2009 for Loverly.
In 2015, Wilson gave a special concert at the famed Apollo Theater to commemorate the 100th birthday of the late blues singer Billie Holiday.
That same year, Wilson released her final album, Coming Forth by Day, an homage to Billie Holiday.