Jackson’s own Cassandra Wilson, one of the most successful female jazz singers in modern history

• Like many Mississippi legends, Cassandra Wilson left us too soon. She passed away at the age of 70 earlier this fall. It’s worth learning more about her and her music.

When it comes to the arts, Mississippi produces more world-famous artists, musicians, singers, and writers per capita than any state in the Union. Perhaps there’s something in the water. Or it could be the state’s complexity that inspires artists. Whatever it is, Mississippi has produced artists such as B.B. King, Elvis Presley, Leontyne Price, Charley Pride, John Lee Hooker, and many more. People the world over have read works by Eudora Welty, William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, Richard Wright, and John Grisham. 

Add another legend to that list – Jackson’s own Cassandra Wilson, one of the most successful female jazz singers in modern history. Calling on her Mississippi roots, Cassandra incorporated country, blues, and folk music into her work. She was highly praised for her talent, winning many awards throughout her career, including two Grammys. In 2001, Time magazine named Cassandra Wilson “America’s Best Singer.” 

Like many Mississippi legends, Cassandra Wilson left us too soon. She passed away at the age of 70 earlier this fall. 

Born on December 4, 1955, into a musical family, Cassandra was the youngest child of Herman Flowlkes Jr., a guitarist, bass player, and music teacher in Jackson who was dedicated to jazz. Her mother, Mary McDaniel, was a PhD-educated elementary school teacher who loved Motown music. There is no doubt her parents sparked Cassandra’s early interest in music. 

She learned the basics of music through classical studies and piano lessons throughout elementary school. In middle school, she picked up the clarinet and participated in her school’s marching band. While her father taught guitar lessons, he chose not to teach Cassandra. Instead, he provided her with the gift of self-reliance when he suggested she study Mel Bay’s method books. That led her to explore the guitar on her own, developing an intuitive approach to playing. While still in high school, she began writing folk-style songs. She also learned to love the stage – Cassandra played the role of Dorothy in her high school production of The Wizard of Oz. 

Cassandra attended Millsaps College in Jackson before transferring to Jackson State University, where she graduated with a mass communications degree. Throughout college, she sang with area pop, funk, and R&B bands at area restaurants including Poet’s and George Street Grocery, as well as singing in coffeehouses. She returned to Millsaps in 2007 when she was awarded an honorary doctorate in Arts. 

Millsaps College remembered Cassandra with a Facebook post following her death:

“Before the awards, before the acclaim, before audiences around the world knew her name, Cassandra Fowlkes Wilson was a Millsaps student enjoying time with friends, playing music, and building the foundation of a remarkable life. She was an active member of our performing arts community, singing with the Troubadours and performing with the Millsaps players. 

“Today, we remember Cassandra, whose extraordinary talent would take her from our Jackson to the world stage as a Grammy Award-winning artist. While audiences around the globe came to know her as a jazz icon, we’re proud to remember her as a member of the Millsaps family.”

There was also a heartfelt post on the Jackson State University Facebook page:

“Jackson State University is deeply saddened by the passing of alumna and two-time Grammy Award-winning musician Cassandra Wilson. 

“The Jackson, Mississippi native was a renowned vocalist, songwriter, and producer who shaped the jazz genre, blending blues, country, and folk music into her work.

“Wilson’s talents and impact on the music industry landed her such notable achievements, including an Edison Jazz Award, a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail, and an honorary doctorate from the Berklee College of Music in Boston alongside Sheila E., Andre De Shield, John Legend, and Mikhail Baryshnikov. 

“Our prayers and heartfelt condolences are with her family.”

Kevin Sessums, an author from Mississippi, posted a tribute to Cassandra on Instagram:

“The great Grammy winning jazz artist Cassandra Wilson has died.  We were classmates at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi.  She’d sit in my dorm room and play her guitar and sing Joni Mitchell songs.  We mooned over the same boys. These photos of the two of us were on the roof of SF Jazz after one of her concerts.  It was the last time I saw her when I was living out in San Francisco.  We looked out at the city lights and marveled that so many of our dreams had come true.  My heart goes out to her family and friends.  A true and great artist. And now a legendary one.  Onward, dear Cassandra.  Onward.” 

From New Orleans to New York

Cassandra moved to New Orleans in 1981 to work at WDSU-TV as the assistant public affairs director. While there, she had opportunities to perform with some of her mentors, including Ellis Marsalis, Earl Turbinton, and Alvin Batiste. She didn’t stay in New Orleans long – the next year she was encouraged to pursue jazz performance in New York City seriously.  

When she arrived in New York, Cassandra became a founding member of the M-Base collective, and she was a vocalist with the stylistic group that re-imagined soul and funk grooves within both traditional and avant-garde jazz. 

Solo Career

Cassandra recorded her first solo album, New Yorker in a Sentimental Mood, in Japan in 1985. Several other projects followed, including a few standards, which established her as a serious musician. 

She released Blue Skies in 1988 and signed with Blue Note Records in 1993, which helped the artist break through to audiences beyond jazz. Her albums sold hundreds of thousands of copies. Her Blue Light ‘til Dawn album was a synthesis of world music, pop, blues, country, with jazz. 

Her first Grammy was for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for her 1996 album, New Moon Daughter. On the heels of that recognition, she recorded and toured with Wynton Marsalis in 1997 as a featured vocalist for his Pulitzer Prize-winning composition, “Blood on the Fields.” 

In 1999, Cassandra produced an album as a tribute to Miles Davis, who was one of her greatest influences. Traveling Miles was developed from a series of jazz concerts she performed in Davis’s honor at the Lincoln Center in 1997. 

Family

For several years, Cassandra lived with her only son, Jeris, in the Sugar Hill area of New York City, in an apartment previously inhabited by Count Basie and Lena Horne. 

Cassandra passed away on the first of September in Jackson. She was a true Mississippi legend who performed for jazz fans around the world, yet she remained rooted in her home state throughout her life. 

To get an idea of Cassandra’s unique jazz style, enjoy these videos: