Cassandra Wilson (born December 4, 1955) is an American jazz singer, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. She is one of the most successful female jazz singers and has been described by critic Gary Giddins 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. She has won numerous awards, including two Grammys, and was named "America's Best Singer" by Time magazine in 2001.

Early life and career

Cassandra Wilson is the third and youngest child of Herman Fowlkes, Jr., a guitarist, bassist, and music teacher; and Mary McDaniel, an elementary school teacher who earned her PhD in education. Her ancestry includes Fon, Yoruba, Irish and Welsh. Between her mother's love for Motown and her father's dedication to jazz, Wilson's parents sparked her early interest in music.

Wilson's earliest formal musical education consisted of classical lessons; she studied piano from the age of six to thirteen and played clarinet in the middle school concert and marching bands. The Black Arts Music Society, founded by John Reese and Alvin Fielder, provided her with her first opportunities to perform bebop.</blockquote>

Although the voice – typically treated as the focal point of any arrangement in which it is included – was not an obvious choice for M-Base's complex textures or harmonically elaborated melodies, Wilson wove herself into the fabric of these settings with wordless improv and lyrics. She can be heard on Coleman's debut as a leader Motherland Pulse (1985),

While these recordings established her as a serious musician, Wilson received her first broad critical acclaim for the album of standards recorded in the middle of this period, Blue Skies (1988).

She has a son, Jeris, born in the late 1980s. Her song "Out Loud (Jeris' Blues)" on the 1991 album She Who Weeps is dedicated to him. For many years, Wilson and her son lived in New York City's Sugar Hill, in an apartment that once belonged to Count Basie, Lena Horne and the boxer Joe Louis.

From 2000 to 2003, Wilson was married to actor Isaach de Bankolé, who directed her in the concert film Traveling Miles: Cassandra Wilson (2000).

Wilson and her mother are members of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.

Awards and honors

  • 1994–1996: Female Jazz Vocalist of the Year, Down Beat
  • 1997: Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, New Moon Daughter
  • 2010: Best Vocal Album, NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll 2010, Silver Pony
  • 2011: Best Traditional Jazz Album, BET Soul Train Award, Silver Pony
  • 2015: Honorary doctorate in Fine Arts, The New School
  • 2015: Spirit of Ireland Award, Irish Arts Centre
  • 2020: Honorary doctorate in Music, Berklee College of Music

Discography

As leader

  • Point of View (JMT, 1986)
  • Days Aweigh (JMT, 1987)
  • Blue Skies (JMT, 1988)
  • Jumpworld (JMT, 1990)
  • Live (JMT, 1991)
  • She Who Weeps (JMT, 1991)
  • Dance to the Drums Again (DIW, 1992)
  • After the Beginning Again (JMT, 1992)
  • Blue Light 'til Dawn (Blue Note, 1993)
  • New Moon Daughter (Blue Note, 1995)
  • Rendezvous with Jacky Terrasson (Blue Note, 1997)
  • Traveling Miles (Blue Note, 1999)
  • Belly of the Sun (Blue Note, 2002)
  • Glamoured (Blue Note, 2003)
  • Thunderbird (Blue Note, 2006)
  • Loverly (Blue Note, 2008)
  • Silver Pony (Blue Note, 2010)
  • Another Country (eOne, 2012))
  • Coming Forth by Day (Legacy, 2015)

Compilations

  • Songbook (JMT, 1995)
  • Sings Standards (Verve, 2002)
  • Love Phases Dimensions: From the JMT Years (Edel, 2004)
  • Closer to You: The Pop Side (Blue Note, 2009)
  • 5 Original Albums (Blue Note, 2018)

As guest

With Steve Coleman

  • Motherland Pulse (JMT, 1985)
  • On the Edge of Tomorrow (JMT, 1986)
  • World Expansion (JMT, 1987)
  • Sine Die (Pangaea, 1988)
  • Rhythm People (The Resurrection of Creative Black Civilization) (RCA, 1990)
  • Black Science (Novus, 1991)
  • Drop Kick (Novus, 1992)
  • The Ascension to Light (BMG France, 1999)

With Wynton Marsalis

  • Blood on the Fields (Columbia, 1997)
  • Reeltime (Sony, 1999)

With Greg Osby

  • Season of Renewal (JMT, 1990)
  • 3-D Lifestyles (Blue Note, 1993)

With The Roots

  • Do You Want More?!!!??! (DGC, 1994)
  • Illadelph Halflife (DGC, 1996)

With others

  • New Air, Air Show No. 1 (Black Saint, 1986)
  • Don Byron, A Fine Line: Arias & Lieder (Blue Note, 2000)
  • Terence Blanchard, Let's Get Lost (Sony, 2001)
  • Terri Lyne Carrington, The Mosaic Project (Concord Jazz, 2011)
  • Regina Carter, Rhythms of the Heart (Verve, 1999)
  • Olu Dara, Neighborhoods (Atlantic, 2001)
  • Kurt Elling, The Messenger (Blue Note, 1997)
  • Robin Eubanks, Karma (JMT, 1991)
  • Bill Frisell & Elvis Costello, The Sweetest Punch (Decca, 1999)
  • Charlie Haden Quartet West, Sophisticated Ladies (EmArcy, 2010)
  • Dave Holland, Dream of the Elders (ECM, 1995)
  • Javon Jackson, A Look Within (Blue Note, 1996)
  • Angelique Kidjo, Oremi (Island, 1998)
  • M-Base Collective, Anatomy of a Groove (Columbia, 1992)
  • David Murray Black Saint Quartet, Sacred Ground (Justin Time, 2007)
  • Meshell Ndegeocello, The Spirit Music Jamia: Dance of the Infidel (Shanachie, 2005)
  • Courtney Pine, Modern Day Jazz Stories (Antilles, 1995)
  • David Sanchez, Street Scenes (Columbia, 1996)
  • Steve Turre, Steve Turre (Verve, 1997)
  • Luther Vandross, I Know (EMI, 1998)
  • Count Basie Orchestra, Ella 100: Live at the Apollo! (Concord, 2020)

References

  • Cassandra Wilson at Blue Note Records
  • Cassandra Wilson at Montreal International Jazz Festival

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