Cassandra Wilson (born December 4, 1955) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

singer, songwriter, and producer from

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the capital of and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, along with Raymond. The city had a population of 153,701 at t ...

. She is one of the most successful female Jazz singers and has been described by critic

Gary Giddins Gary Giddins is an American jazz critic and author. He wrote for ''The Village Voice'' from 1973; his "Weather Bird" column ended in 2003. In 1986 Gary Giddins and John Lewis created the American Jazz Orchestra which presented concerts using a ...

as "a singer blessed with an unmistakable

timbre In music, timbre ( ), also known as tone color or tone quality (from psychoacoustics), is the perceived sound quality of a musical note, sound or tone. Timbre distinguishes different types of sound production, such as choir voices and musica ...

and attack

ho has Ho (or the transliterations He or Heo) may refer to: People Language and ethnicity * Ho people, an ethnic group of India ** Ho language, a tribal language in India * Hani people, or Ho people, an ethnic group in China, Laos and Vietnam * Hiri Mo ...

expanded the playing field" by incorporating blues,

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

, and

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

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 The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

. Between her mother's love for Motown and her father's dedication to jazz, Wilson's parents sparked her early interest in music. Leland, John.
GOING HOME WITH: Cassandra Wilson; Jazz Diva Follows Sound of Her Roots
'' ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', March 7, 2002 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 band A marching band is a group of musical instrument, instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass instrument, brass, woodwind instrument, woodwind, and percus ...

s. When she was tired of this training, she asked her father to teach her the guitar. Instead, he gave her a lesson in self-reliance, suggesting she study

Mel Bay Mel Bay (February 25, 1913 – May 14, 1997) was an American musician and publisher best known for his series of music education books. His '' Encyclopedia of Guitar Chords'' remains a bestseller. Biography Early life Melbourne E. Bay was bo ...

method books. Wilson explored guitar on her own, developing what she has described as an "intuitive" approach. During this time she began writing her own songs, adopting a folk style. She also appeared in the musical theater productions, including '' The Wizard of Oz'' as Dorothy, crossing racial lines in a recently desegregated school system. Wilson attended

Millsaps College Millsaps College is a private liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi. It was founded in 1890 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. History The college was founded in 1889–90 by a Confederate veteran, Major Reuben Webste ...

and

Jackson State University Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a public historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States and the fourth largest university in Mississippi in terms of studen ...

. She graduated with a degree in

mass communications Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...

. Outside of the classroom, she spent her nights working with R&B, funk, and pop

cover band A cover band (or covers band) is a band that plays songs recorded by someone else, sometimes mimicking the original as accurately as possible, and sometimes re-interpreting or changing the original. These remade songs are known as cover songs. ...

s, also singing in local coffeehouses. The Black Arts Music Society, founded by John Reese and

Alvin Fielder Alvin Leroy Fielder Jr (November 23, 1935 – January 5, 2019) was an American jazz drummer. He was a charter member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), Black Arts Music Society, Improvisational Arts band, and wa ...

, provided her with her first opportunities to perform

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

. In 2007, Wilson received her PhD in Arts from

. In 1981, she moved to New Orleans for a position as assistant public affairs director for the local television station, WDSU. She did not stay long. Working with mentors who included elder statesmen Earl Turbinton, Alvin Batiste, and Ellis Marsalis, Wilson found encouragement to seriously pursue jazz performance and moved to New York City the following year.

Musical association with M-Base

In New York, Wilson's focus turned towards improvisation. Heavily influenced by singers

Abbey Lincoln Anna Marie Wooldridge (August 6, 1930 – August 14, 2010), known professionally as Abbey Lincoln, was an American jazz vocalist, songwriter, and actress. She was a civil rights activist beginning in the 1960s. Lincoln made a career out of deli ...

and Betty Carter, she fine-tuned her vocal phrasing and scat while studying

ear training Ear training or aural skills is a music theory study in which musicians learn to identify pitches, intervals, melody, chords, rhythms, solfeges, and other basic elements of music, solely by hearing. The application of this skill is analogous t ...

with trombonist Grachan Moncur, III. Frequenting jam sessions under the tutelage of pianist

Sadik Hakim Sadik Hakim (born Forrest Argonne Thornton; July 15, 1919 – June 20, 1983) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Early life Forrest Argonne Thornton was born on July 15, 1919 in Duluth, Minnesota. The name Argonne came from the World War ...

, a

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

alumnus, she met alto saxophonist Steve Coleman, who encouraged her to look beyond the standard jazz repertoire in favor of developing original material. She would become the vocalist and one of the founding members of the

M-Base The term "M-Base" is used in several ways. In the 1980s, a loose collective of young African American musicians including Steve Coleman, Graham Haynes, Cassandra Wilson, Geri Allen, Robin Eubanks, and Greg Osby emerged in Brooklyn with a new sou ...

collective in which Coleman was the leading figure, a stylistic outgrowth of the

Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) is a nonprofit organization, founded in 1965 in Chicago by pianist Muhal Richard Abrams, pianist Jodie Christian, drummer Steve McCall, and composer Phil Cohran. The AACM is devot ...

(AACM) and

Black Artists Group The Black Artists Group (BAG) was a multidisciplinary arts collective that existed in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1968 to 1972. BAG is known for the convergence of free jazz and experimental theater. Members Members included saxophonists Julius ...

(BAG) that re-imagined the grooves of funk and soul within the context of traditional and

avant-garde jazz Avant-garde jazz (also known as avant-jazz and experimental jazz) is a style of music and improvisation that combines avant-garde art music and composition with jazz. It originated in the early 1950s and developed through to the late 1960s. Ori ...

. Peter Watrous in an article for ''

'' states:

The M-Base group in Brooklyn, working with both jazz and pop forms, makes music that at first sounds like funk from the 1970s. Like the music played by Mr. Marsalis (and his brother Wynton) the music made by M-Base - Steve Coleman, with Greg Osby, Cassandra Wilson and
Geri Allen Geri Antoinette Allen (June 12, 1957 – June 27, 2017) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and educator. In addition to her career as a performer and bandleader, Allen was also an associate professor of music at the University of Pittsburgh ...
– is, at its best, filled with subtle ideas working behind the mask of popular music. In Mr. Coleman's group a singer is supported by an electric bass, guitar, drums and electric keyboards, a shiny musical mix that has familiar rock and funk references; yet, because of all its rhythmic and metric manipulations, sounds new.

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), then as member of his ''Five Elements'' on ''On the Edge of Tomorrow'' (1986), ''World Expansion'' (1986), ''Sine Die'' (1987), and on M-Base Collective's sole recording as a large ensemble ''Anatomy of a Groove'' (1992). At the same time, Wilson toured with avant-garde trio New Air featuring alto saxophonist

Henry Threadgill Henry Threadgill (born February 15, 1944) is an American composer, saxophonist and flautist. He came to prominence in the 1970s leading ensembles rooted in jazz but with unusual instrumentation and often incorporating other genres of music. He h ...

and recorded '' Air Show No. 1'' (1987) in Italy. A decade her senior and an AACM member, Threadgill has been lauded as a composer for his ability to transcend stylistic boundaries, a trait he and Wilson share.

Solo career

Like fellow M-Base artists, Wilson signed to the Munich-based, independent label JMT. She released her first recording as a leader ''

Point of View Point of view or Points of View may refer to: Concept and technique * Point of view (philosophy), an attitude how one sees or thinks of something * Point of view (literature) or narrative mode, the perspective of the narrative voice; the prono ...

'' in 1986. Like the majority of her JMT albums that followed, originals by Wilson in keeping with M-Base dominated these sessions; she would also record material by and co-written with Coleman, Jean-Paul Bourelly, and James Weidman as well as a few standards. Her throaty

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typica ...

gradually emerges over the course of these recordings, making its way to the foreground. She developed a remarkable ability to stretch and bend pitches, elongate syllables, manipulate tone and timbre from dusky to hollow. 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). Her signing with Blue Note Records in 1993 marked a crucial turning point in her career and major breakthrough to audiences beyond jazz with albums selling in the hundreds of thousands of copies. Beginning with ''

Blue Light 'Til Dawn ''Blue Light 'til Dawn'' is a studio album by American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson. Her first album on the Blue Note label, it was released in 1993. It contains Wilson's interpretations of songs by various blues and rock artists, as well as thre ...

'' (1993) her repertoire moved towards a broad synthesis of blues, pop, jazz, world music, and country. Although she continued to perform originals and standards, she adopted songs as diverse as

Robert Johnson Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911August 16, 1938) was an American blues musician and songwriter. His landmark recordings in 1936 and 1937 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that has influenced later generati ...

's " Come On in My Kitchen", Joni Mitchell's "Black Crow",

The Monkees The Monkees were an American rock and pop band, formed in Los Angeles in 1966, whose lineup consisted of the American actor/musicians Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork alongside English actor/singer Davy Jones. The group was con ...

' "

Last Train to Clarksville "Last Train to Clarksville" is a song by American pop rock band the Monkees. It was released as the band's debut single on August 16, 1966, and was later included on the group's self-titled album, which was released on October 10, 1966.''The Monk ...

", and Hank Williams' "

I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1949. The song has been covered by a wide range of musicians. Authorship and production Various writers quoted Williams a ...

". Wilson's 1996 album ''

New Moon Daughter ''New Moon Daughter'' is a studio album by American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson that was released by Blue Note in 1995. The album reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' magazine jazz album chart and also won the Grammy Award as the Best Jazz Vocal Pe ...

'' won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. In 1997, she recorded and toured as a featured vocalist with

Wynton Marsalis Wynton Learson Marsalis (born October 18, 1961) is an American trumpeter, composer, teacher, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center. He has promoted classical and jazz music, often to young audiences. Marsalis has won nine Grammy Award ...

' Pulitzer Prize winning composition, ''

Blood on the Fields ''Blood on the Fields'' is a two-and-a-half-hour jazz oratorio by Wynton Marsalis. It was commissioned by Lincoln Center and treats the history of slavery and its aftermath in the United States of America. The oratorio tells the story of two slav ...

''.

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of musi ...

was one of Wilson's greatest influences. In 1989, Wilson performed as the opening act for Davis at the

JVC Jazz Festival The Newport Jazz Festival is an annual American multi-day jazz music festival held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island. Elaine Lorillard established the festival in 1954, and she and husband Louis Lorillard financed it for many years. They hir ...

in Chicago. In 1999 she produced '' Traveling Miles'' as a tribute to Davis. The album developed from a series of jazz concerts that she performed at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

in November 1997 in Davis' honor, and includes three selections based on Davis' own compositions, from which Wilson adapted the original themes.

Personal life

Wilson was married to Anthony Wilson from 1981 to 1983. She has a son, Jeris, born in the late 1980s. Her song "Out Loud (Jeris' Blues)" on the album ''She Who Weeps'' is dedicated to him. For many years she and her son lived in New York City's Sugar Hill, in an apartment that once belonged to

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

, 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 ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chi ...

'' * 1997: Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, ''

'' * 1999: Miles Davis Prize,

Montreal International Jazz Festival The Festival International de Jazz de Montréal ( en, Montreal International Jazz Festival) is an annual jazz festival held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Montreal Jazz Fest holds the 2004 Guinness World Record as the world's largest jazz fes ...

* 2001: "America's Best Singer", ''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

'' * 2003:

Honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

in the Arts,

* 2009:

Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works (songs or albums) in the vocal jazz ...

, '' Loverly'' * 2010: Added to

Mississippi Blues Trail The Mississippi Blues Trail was created by the Mississippi Blues Commission in 2006 to place interpretive markers at the most notable historical sites related to the birth, growth, and influence of the blues throughout (and in some cases beyond) ...

* 2010: Best Vocal Album, NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll 2010, '' Silver Pony'' * 2011: Best Traditional Jazz Album,

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

Soul Train Award, ''Silver Pony'' * 2015: Honorary doctorate in Fine Arts,

The New School The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

* 2015: Spirit of Ireland Award, Irish Arts Centre * 2020: Honorary doctorate in Music, Berklee College of Music

Discography

As leader

* ''

'' (JMT, 1986) * '' Days Aweigh'' (JMT, 1987) * '' Blue Skies'' (JMT, 1988) * ''

Jumpworld ''Jumpworld'' is the fourth studio album by American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson. It was released in 1990 by JMT label. Track listing # "Woman on the Edge" (Cassandra Wilson) – 5:02 # "Domination Switch" ( Steve Coleman, Wilson) � ...

'' (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 Light 'til Dawn'' is a studio album by American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson. Her first album on the Blue Note label, it was released in 1993. It contains Wilson's interpretations of songs by various blues and rock artists, as well as thre ...

'' (Blue Note, 1993) * ''

'' (Blue Note, 1995) * '' Rendezvous'' with Jacky Terrasson (Blue Note, 1997) * '' Traveling Miles'' (Blue Note, 1999) * ''

Belly of the Sun ''Belly of the Sun'' is a studio album by American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson. It was released on the Blue Note label in 2002. Background The title of the CD comes from a line in "Only a Dream in Rio" that Wilson had translated to Yoruba "... ...

'' (Blue Note, 2002) * '' Glamoured'' (Blue Note, 2003) * ''

Thunderbird Thunderbird, thunder bird or thunderbirds may refer to: * Thunderbird (mythology), a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture * Ford Thunderbird, a car Birds * Dromornithidae, extinct flightless birds ...

'' (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 Edel is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname: * Abraham Edel (1908–2007), North American philosopher and ethicist * Alfred William Edel (c. 1930–2005), American television news presenter * Apoula Ed ...

, 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 ''World Expansion'' (subtitled ''(By the M-Base Neophyte)'') is the third album by saxophonist Steve Coleman recorded in 1986 and released on the JMT label.Pangaea Pangaea or Pangea () was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. It assembled from the earlier continental units of Gondwana, Euramerica and Siberia during the Carboniferous approximately 335 million y ...

, 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

* ''

'' (Columbia, 1997) * '' Reeltime'' (

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...

, 1999) With The Roots * ''

Do You Want More?!!!??! ''Do You Want More?!!!??!'' is the second studio album by American hip hop band The Roots, released January 17, 1995 on DGC Records. The band's major label-debut, it was released two years after their independent debut album, '' Organix'' (1993 ...

'' ( DGC, 1994) * ''

Illadelph Halflife ''Illadelph Halflife'' is the third studio album by American hip hop band the Roots, released September 24, 1996 on DGC and Geffen Records. It features a tougher and broader sound than their previous album, '' Do You Want More?!!!??!'' (1995). Th ...

'' (DGC, 1996) With others * New Air, '' Air Show No. 1'' (Black Saint, 1986) *

Don Byron Donald Byron (born November 8, 1958) is an American composer and multi-instrumentalist. He primarily plays clarinet but has also played bass clarinet and saxophone in a variety of genres that includes free jazz and klezmer. Biography His mother w ...

, ''A Fine Line: Arias & Lieder'' (Blue Note, 2000) *

Terence Blanchard Terence Oliver Blanchard (born March 13, 1962) is an American trumpeter and composer. He started his career in 1982 as a member of the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, then The Jazz Messengers. He has composed more than forty film scores and performed ...

, '' Let's Get Lost'' (Sony, 2001) *

Terri Lyne Carrington Terri Lyne Carrington (born August 4, 1965) is an American jazz drummer, composer, producer, and educator. She has played with Dizzy Gillespie, Stan Getz, Clark Terry, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Joe Sample, Al Jarreau, Yellowjackets, and ma ...

, '' The Mosaic Project'' (

Concord Jazz Concord Jazz is a record company and label founded in 1973 by Carl Jefferson, the former owner of Jefferson Motors Lincoln Mercury dealership in Concord, California. The label was named after the city in the East San Francisco Bay area, and the j ...

, 2011) *

Regina Carter Regina Carter (born August 6, 1966) is an American jazz violinist. She is the cousin of jazz saxophonist James Carter. Early life Carter was born in Detroit and was one of three children in her family. She began piano lessons at the age of t ...

, ''Rhythms of the Heart'' (Verve, 1999) *

Olu Dara Olu Dara Jones (born Charles Jones III, January 12, 1941) is an American cornetist, guitarist, and singer. He is the father of rapper Nas. Early life Olu Dara was born Charles Jones III on January 12, 1941 in Natchez, Mississippi. His mother, E ...

, ''

Neighborhoods A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

'' (Atlantic, 2001) *

Kurt Elling Kurt Elling (born November 2, 1967) is an American jazz singer and songwriter. Born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Rockford, Elling became interested in music through his father, who was Kapellmeister at a Lutheran church. He sang in cho ...

, '' The Messenger'' (Blue Note, 1997) * Robin Eubanks, ''

Karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

'' (JMT, 1991) *

Bill Frisell William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts ...

& Elvis Costello, ''

The Sweetest Punch ''The Sweetest Punch'' is a 1999 album by Bill Frisell, released as a companion to Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach's 1998 album ''Painted from Memory''. Many of the earlier album's songs are featured with new arrangements by Frisell, mostly ...

'' (

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

, 1999) *

Charlie Haden Charles Edward Haden (August 6, 1937 – July 11, 2014) was an American jazz double bass player, bandleader, composer and educator whose career spanned more than 50 years. In the late 1950s, he was an original member of the ground-breaking ...

Quartet West, ''

Sophisticated Ladies ''Sophisticated Ladies'' is a musical revue based on the music of Duke Ellington. The musical ran on Broadway in 1981–83, earning 2 awards and 8 nominations at the 35th Tony Awards. Production ''Sophisticated Ladies'' opened on Broadway at th ...

'' ( EmArcy, 2010) *

Dave Holland David “Dave” Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years. His extensive discography r ...

, '' Dream of the Elders'' ( ECM, 1995) *

Javon Jackson Javon Anthony Jackson (born June 16, 1965) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist, bandleader, and educator. He first became known as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers from 1987 until Blakey's death in 1990. and went on to release 22 reco ...

, ''A Look Within'' (Blue Note, 1996) * Angelique Kidjo, ''Oremi'' (

Island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

, 1998) *

Collective, ''Anatomy of a Groove'' (Columbia, 1992) * David Murray Black Saint Quartet, ''Sacred Ground'' ( Justin Time, 2007) *

Meshell Ndegeocello Michelle Lynn Johnson, better known as Meshell Ndegeocello (; born August 29, 1968), is a German-born American singer-songwriter, rapper, and bassist. She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on so ...

, '' The Spirit Music Jamia: Dance of the Infidel'' ( Shanachie, 2005) * Greg Osby, '' Season of Renewal'' (JMT, 1990) *

Courtney Pine Courtney Pine, (born 18 March 1964), is a British jazz musician, who was the principal founder in the 1980s of the black British band the Jazz Warriors. Although known primarily for his saxophone playing, Pine is a multi-instrumentalist, also ...

, ''Modern Day Jazz Stories'' (

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...

, 1995) *

David Sanchez David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

, ''Street Scenes'' (Columbia, 1996) * Steve Turre, ''Steve Turre'' (Verve, 1997) * Luther Vandross, ''I Know'' (

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

, 1998) *

Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 195 ...

, ''Ella 100: Live at the Apollo!'' (Concord, 2020)

References

External links

* * *
Cassandra Wilson
at Blue Note Records
Cassandra Wilson
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Cassandra American blues singers American jazz singers 1955 births Living people American contraltos American women jazz singers American jazz songwriters African-American women singer-songwriters African-American jazz musicians Grammy Award winners Mississippi Blues Trail Yoruba women musicians Jackson State University alumni Millsaps College alumni American people of Beninese descent American people of Irish descent American people of Welsh descent Fon people Musicians from Jackson, Mississippi Singer-songwriters from Mississippi 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century American musicians 21st-century American composers 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers Jazz musicians from Mississippi JMT Records artists Blue Note Records artists 21st-century women composers 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American women singers