American and Grammy-winning jazz singer Cassandra Wilson
American jazz legend and Grammy Award-winning singer Cassandra Wilson has died at the age of 70, her manager confirmed on Wednesday.
Wilson passed away peacefully at her home in Jackson, Mississippi, surrounded by loved ones, according to a statement issued by her manager, Robert Torre.
“Cassandra Wilson transitioned peacefully at home, surrounded by family, close friends, and her manager,” Torre said, describing the late singer as a “legendary jazz artist.”
The statement did not reveal the cause of her death. Torre added that Wilson’s family and close friends have requested privacy as they mourn her passing.
Renowned for her rich contralto voice and unique ability to blend jazz with blues, folk, R&B and other musical traditions, Wilson built an acclaimed career spanning more than three decades.
She won the 1997 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for her critically acclaimed album New Moon Daughter. More than a decade later, her album Loverly earned the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album, further cementing her place among the most influential voices in contemporary jazz.
Wilson also played a leading vocal role in Wynton Marsalis’ 1997 oratorio Blood on the Fields, which became the first jazz composition to receive the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Music.
Throughout her career, she collaborated with several celebrated musicians, including saxophonists Steve Coleman and Greg Osby, as well as Grammy-winning hip-hop group The Roots.
Tributes have continued to pour in following news of her passing, with award-winning musician Jon Batiste remembering Wilson’s lasting influence on modern music.
“I learned so much from her, and I am so sad she has passed away,” Batiste wrote on social media.
“She had an unmistakable vocal tone, phrasing, and her approach of weaving folkloric, R&B, and diasporic music together with experimental and popular genres had a major impact on me.
“She sounded like the South.”
Wilson is widely regarded as one of the defining voices of modern jazz, leaving behind a legacy of groundbreaking recordings and performances that inspired generations of musicians and music lovers around the world.
