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, 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.

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 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 the musical theater productions, including The Wizard of Oz as Dorothy, crossing racial lines in a recently desegregated school system.

For college, 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, Ms. Wilson received her Ph.D in Arts from Millsaps College.

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 and Betty Carter, she fine-tuned her vocal phrasing and scat while studying ear training with trombonist Grachan Moncur, III. Frequenting jam sessions under the tutelage of pianist Sadik Hakim, a Charlie Parker 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 collective in which Coleman was the leading figure, a stylistic outgrowth of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM) and Black Artists Group (BAG) that re-imagined the grooves of funk and soul within the context of traditional and avant-garde jazz. Peter Watrous in an article for The New York Times 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 - 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 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 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 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 (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's "Come On in My Kitchen", Joni Mitchell's "Black Crow", The Monkees' "Last Train to Clarksville", and Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry".

Not only did Wilson effectively reconnect vocal jazz with its blues roots, she was arguably the first to convincingly fashion post-British Invasion pop into jazz, trailblazing a path that many have since followed. Furthermore, producer Craig Street drew from pop production techniques to create a rich ambient environment around her voice, magnifying it and giving sonic depth to Brandon Ross' sparse but incredibly vivid arrangements, which used steel guitar, violin, accordion, and percussion.

Wilson's 1996 album New Moon Daughter won the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Performance. In 1997, she recorded and toured as a featured vocalist with Wynton Marsalis' Pulitzer Prize winning composition, Blood on the Fields.

The late Miles Davis was one of Wilson's greatest influences. In 1989, Wilson performed as the opening act for Davis at the JVC Jazz Festival 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 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, Lena Horne and the boxer Joe Louis.

In 2000, Wilson married 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.

Honors

• 1994-1996: Female Jazz Vocalist of the Year, Down Beat magazine. Wilson was named best jazz singer.
• 1996: Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance for New Moon Daughter
• 1999: Received Miles Davis Prize from the Montreal International Jazz Festival
• 2001: Named "America's Best Singer" by Time Magazine
• 2003: Received honorary doctorate in the Arts from Millsaps College
• 2009: Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album for Loverly
• 2010: Added to the Mississippi Blues Trail on January 7
• 2011: BET Soul Train Award for Best Traditional Jazz Album for Silver Pony
• 2015: Received honorary doctorate in Fine Arts from The New School
• 2015: Received Spirit of Ireland Award from the Irish Arts Center

Discography

As leader

• Point of View (1986, JMT)
• Days Aweigh (1987, JMT)
• Blue Skies (1988, JMT)
• Jumpworld (1989, JMT)
• Live (1991, JMT)
• She Who Weeps (1991, JMT)
• After the Beginning Again (1992, JMT)
• Dance to the Drums Again (1992, DIW/Columbia)
• Blue Light 'til Dawn (1993, Blue Note)
• New Moon Daughter (1995, Blue Note)
• Rendezvous (with Jacky Terrasson) (1998, Blue Note)
• Traveling Miles (1999, Blue Note)
• Belly of the Sun (2002, Blue Note)
• Glamoured (2003, Blue Note)
• Thunderbird (2006, Blue Note)
• Loverly (2008, Blue Note)
• Silver Pony (2010, Blue Note)
• Another Country (2012, eOne)
• Coming Forth by Day (2015, Legacy)

Compilations

• Songbook (1995, JMT)
• Sings Standards (2002, Verve)
• Love Phases Dimensions: From the JMT Years (2004, Edel)
• Closer to You: The Pop Side (2009, Blue Note)
• Moonglow (featuring Jim De Angelis & Tony Signa, 2014, Audiophile)

As sidewoman or guest vocalist

(generally for one or two tracks)

With Steve Coleman

• Motherland Pulse (1985, JMT)
• On the Edge of Tomorrow (1986, JMT)
• World Expansion (1987, JMT)
• Sine Die (1988, Pangaea)
• Rhythm People (1990, Novus/RCA)
• Black Science (1991, Novus)
• Drop Kick (1992, Novus)
• The Ascension to Light (1999, BMG/RCA)

With Jim DeAngelis/Tony Signa

• Straight from the Top (Statiras, 1986)

With New Air

• Air Show No. 1 (Black Saint, 1986)

With Greg Osby

• Season of Renewal (JMT, 1990)

With Robin Eubanks

• Karma (JMT, 1991)

With M-Base Collective

• Anatomy of a Groove (1992, Rebel-X/DIW/Columbia)

With Rod Williams

• Destiny Express (1993, Muse)

With Dave Holland

• Dream of the Elders (1995, ECM)

With Courtney Pine

• Modern Day Jazz Stories (1995, Antilles)

With The Roots

• Do You Want More?!!!??! (1995, DGC/Geffen)
• Illadelph Halflife (1996, DGC/Geffen)

With Javon Jackson

• A Look Within (1996, Blue Note)

With David Sánchez

• Street Scenes (1996, Columbia)

With Steve Turre

• Steve Turre (1997, Verve)

With Kurt Elling

• The Messenger (1997, Blue Note)

With Wynton Marsalis

• Blood on the Fields (1997, Columbia)
• Reeltime (1999, Sony)

With Luther Vandross

• I Know (1998, EMI)

With Angélique Kidjo

• Oremi (1998, Island)

With Bill Frisell & Elvis Costello

• The Sweetest Punch (1999, Decca)

With Regina Carter

• Rhythms of the Heart (1999, Verve)

With Don Byron

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

With Terence Blanchard

• Let's Get Lost (2001, Sony)

With Olu Dara

• Neighborhoods (2001, Atlantic)

With Meshell Ndegeocello

• The Spirit Music Jamia: Dance of the Infidel (2005, Shanhachie/Universal France)

With David Murray Black Saint Quartet

• Sacred Ground (2007, Justin Time)

With Charlie Haden Quartet West

• Sophisticated Ladies (2010, EmArcy/Verve)

With Terri Lyne Carrington

• The Mosaic Project (2011, Concord Jazz)

On special productions

• No Prima Donna, The Songs of Van Morrison (1994, Polydor): "Crazy Love"
• Bob Belden: When Doves Cry: The Music of Prince (1994, Metro Blue): "When Doves Cry"
• Spirit of '73: Rock for Choice (1995, 550 Music/Epic): "Killing Me Softly with His Song"
• Jazz to the World (Christmas) (1995, Blue Note): "The Little Drummer Boy"
• Bob Belden Presents Strawberry Fields (1996, Blue Note): "Come Together", "Strawberry Fields Forever"
• Bob Belden's Shades of Blue (1996, Blue Note): "Joshua Fit de Battle ob Jericho"
• Lounge-A-Palooza (1997, Hollywood): "The Good Life"
• A Tribute to Joni Mitchell (2007, Nonesuch): "For the Roses"

Soundtracks

(using already issued songs)

• 1994 Jimmy Hollywood: "Let the Good Times Roll"
• 1994 Junior: "I've Got You Under My Skin" and "Little Warm Death"
• 1995 Miami Rhapsody: "How Long Has This Been Going On?"
• 1997 Love Jones: "You Move Me" (see Love Jones (soundtrack))
• 1997 Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (film): "Days of Wine and Roses"
• 1997 The Last Time I Committed Suicide: "Country Girl" Javon Jackson with Cassandra Wilson vocals.
• 1998 B. Monkey: "Tupelo Honey"
• 1999 Passions (TV series): "Time After Time"
• 1999 Searching for Jimi Hendrix (TV documentary): "Angel"
• 2001 The Score: "Green Dolphin Street" and "You're About to Give In"
• 2002 Brown Sugar: "Time After Time"
• 2005 Don't Come Knocking: "Lost"
• 2008 My Blueberry Nights: "Harvest Moon"
• 2012 Good Deeds: "Time After Time"

Filmography

Cassandra Wilson features as a singer in the following films.

• Junior (1994)
• The Score (2001)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]