Cassandra Wilson (neé Fowlkes; December 4, 1955 – September 1, 2026) was an American jazz singer, songwriter and producer from Jackson, Mississippi.

She was one of the most successful female jazz singers and has been described by critic Gary Giddins[3] 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 won numerous awards, including two Grammys, and was named "America's Best Singer" by Time magazine in 2001.

Wilson was 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 included 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.

Her earliest formal musical education consisted of classical lessons; she studied piano from the age of six to thirteen and played clarinet in her middle school concert and marching bands. 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 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 musical theater productions, including The Wizard of Oz as Dorothy, crossing racial lines in a recently desegregated school system.

Wilson attended Millsaps College and Jackson State University. She graduated with a degree in mass communications. Outside of the classroom, she spent her nights working with R&B, funk, and pop cover bands, also singing in local coffeehouses. The Black Arts Music Society, founded by John Reese and Alvin Fielder, provided her with her first opportunities to perform bebop. In 2007, Wilson received her PhD in Arts from Millsaps College.

In 1981, she moved to New Orleans to take up 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.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassandra_Wilson

 

that's a sad news, R.I.P.

 

Love her.

Thank you, Cassandra!

 

Damn R.I.P.
Her rendition of Time After Time used to move me to tears.

 

A dark and angry tsunami confronted with the oh so smooth, delicious and calming voice of Casandra Wilson would without choice transform with wholesale joy into the very first beautiful day of Spring right before your eyes.

Rest in beauty

Written by Neil Young and incredibly rendered by Cassandra...

 

Last edited: Sep 4, 2026

I played the beautiful song "Piper" very late last night & cried. Painful