Legendary vocalist, songwriter and vocalist Cassandra Wilson has passed away at the age of 70. Her death was announced earlier today in a statement to WBGO from her manager of 20 years, Robert Torre:
“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 family and close friends respectfully ask for privacy during this difficult time as they grieve her loss. Further information regarding memorial services and arrangements will be shared at a later time.”
No other details have been released other than Wilson passed away on Tuesday morning (September 1) in her hometown of Jackson, Mississippi.
Born on December 4, 1955, Cassandra Wilson was the third and youngest child of respected bassist and guitarist Herman Fowlkes Jr. and elementary schoolteacher Mary McDaniel. Wilson was raised in a musical family and started playing the piano at the age of six and the guitar at age 12. Her father was a celebrated music educator who was credited with building Jackson’s music industry, even making history as the first person in the city to play the electric bass back in 1952. In the 1970s, Wilson started to do background vocals for a wide range of artists. Once she graduated with her degree in mass communications, Wilson moved to New Orleans where she worked for local TV station WDSU during the day and at night immersed herself in New Orleans’ music culture. In 1982, she moved to New York City with her then-husband Anthony Wilson, former WBGO weekend announcer with whom she shares a son, Jeris Wilson.
It was in New York that Wilson studied jazz performance and honed in on her vocal abilities. She later met saxophonist and bandleader Steve Coleman and became one of the early founders of M-Base Collective, a musical supergroup of jazz musicians who experimented with soul and funk music blending it in with avant-garde jazz. The collective also included pianist Geri Allen, saxophonist Greg Osby and guitarist Jean-Paul Bourelly.
In the mid-1980s, Wilson signed a record deal with German label JMT, releasing her debut album as bandleader in 1986 entitled Point of View, collaborating with her M-Base Collective members such as Coleman and Bourelly. Between 1986 to 1992, She would release seven albums with JMT including 1988’s Blue Skies, an album of classic standards that brought her critical acclaim in the jazz world. This acclaim would lead to a record deal with Blue Note Records in 1993.