Cassandra Wilson

Cassandra Wilson, a vocalist from Mississippi whose supple and adaptable delivery pairs with an eclectic sensibility, ranks among the foremost jazz singers of her era. Drawing early inspiration from the forward-thinking approaches of Betty Carter, Shirley Horn, and Nina Simone, she stepped out of Steve Coleman's M-Base Collective toward the end of the 1980s as a strikingly independent artist. While she handles jazz standards and blues-rooted material with authority, she moves just as comfortably through reinterpretations of folk, pop, and country songs by figures such as Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Hank Williams, and the Beatles. That breadth earned her major recognition, among them Grammy Awards for the 1995 release New Moon Daughter and the 2009 album Loverly. Even so, her ties to jazz remain firm, evident in her 2015 Billie Holiday homage Coming Forth by Day. Fellow musicians have repeatedly called on her distinctive skills, whether in projects alongside Dave Holland, the Roots, and Bill Frisell or in her contribution to Wynton Marsalis' Pulitzer Prize-winning Blood on the Fields. Beyond the Grammys, she has received a Django d'Or, an Edison Music Award, and an official marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail.

Born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1955, Wilson was raised in a household that valued both music and learning; her father instructed students and performed on jazz bass while her mother taught elementary grades. She began piano lessons at six and added guitar by twelve, later composing folk-styled pieces as a teenager. During those years she also played clarinet in school ensembles and took part in theatrical productions. After graduating high school she attended Millsaps College and Jackson State University, completing a degree in communications. Throughout this period she continued performing, singing with local cover groups, appearing at coffeehouses, and refining her approach as a jazz vocalist.

A position in public affairs at New Orleans television station WDSU brought her to that city in 1981. There she studied with jazz elders Ellis Marsalis, Earl Turbinton, and Alvin Batiste, whose encouragement prompted her move to New York City. In New York she encountered saxophonist Steve Coleman and became the primary vocalist for his forward-looking M-Base Collective, contributing to several of the group's recordings. Her first album as a leader, 1986's Point of View, featured Coleman, Grachan Moncur III, and additional M-Base associates, and subsequent releases maintained a comparable musical setting.

With 1993's Blue Light 'Til Dawn Wilson redirected her focus, delivering an acoustic, blues-inflected program for Blue Note that mixed her own compositions with songs by Robert Johnson, Van Morrison, and Joni Mitchell. The change proved successful, drawing widespread critical attention to her adventurous style. The follow-up, 1995's New Moon Daughter, received the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. Two years afterward she earned further acclaim through her appearance on Wynton Marsalis' Pulitzer Prize-winning Blood on the Fields, while also participating in notable sessions with Dave Holland, the Roots, and Jacky Terrasson. In 1999 she honored one of her principal influences, trumpeter Miles Davis, on the album Traveling Miles.

For 2002's Belly of the Sun Wilson again ranged across multiple songwriters, interpreting material by Robbie Robertson, Jimmy Webb, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and others. She continued writing prolifically, supplying half the songs for 2003's Glamoured. Exploring fresh territory, she incorporated sampling and hip-hop production techniques on 2006's Thunderbird. Returning to jazz standards on 2008's Loverly, she secured her second Grammy. Two years later Silver Pony combined covers and originals while featuring guest appearances by Ravi Coltrane and John Legend.

Maintaining her pattern of stylistic shifts, she issued Another Country, an album consisting largely of original material that she co-produced with electric guitarist Fabrizio Sotti. Recorded across Italy, New Orleans, and New York, the project appeared in summer 2012. Switching to Sony Legacy in 2015, she released the Billie Holiday tribute Coming Forth by Day, produced by Nick Launay, whose prior credits include work with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Supergrass, and Nick Cave. She remained active in the following years, performing in concert with former Hothouse Flowers vocalist Liam Ó Maonlaí and leading her own ensemble on tour.