Jazz Icon Cassandra Wilson Passes Away at 70, NEA Jazz Master Legacy Remembered
Jazz singer Cassandra Wilson, a two-time Grammy winner and NEA Jazz Master from Jackson, Mississippi, died September 2 at age 70; she passed peacefully at home with family. Renowned for blending blues, country and folk into jazz, she helped redefine vocal jazz after Blue Light ’Till Dawn and was honored as NEA Jazz Master in 2022, leaving a lasting influence on peers and fans. Tributes from colleagues and WBGO reflect her boundary-breaking voice.