Cassandra Wilson
Cassandra Wilson | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. | December 4, 1955
Genres | Jazz |
Occupation(s) | Singer |
Years active | 1985–present |
Labels | JMT, Blue Note |
Website | cassandrawilson |
Cassandra Wilson (born December 4, 1955) is an American
Early life and career
Cassandra Wilson is the third and youngest child of
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
Wilson attended
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,
Musical association with M-Base
In New York, Wilson's focus turned towards improvisation. Heavily influenced by singers
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.[7]
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
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.[8]
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
Wilson's 1996 album
Personal life
Wilson was married to Anthony Wilson from 1981 to 1983.[9]
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.[10]
From 2000 to 2003 Wilson was married to actor Isaach de Bankolé, who directed her in the concert film Traveling Miles: Cassandra Wilson (2000).[11]
Wilson and her mother are members of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.[12][13]
Awards and honors
- 1994–1996: Female Jazz Vocalist of the Year, Down Beat
- 1997: Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance, New Moon Daughter[3]
- 1999: Miles Davis Prize, Montreal International Jazz Festival
- 2001: "America's Best Singer", Time[3]
- 2003: Honorary doctorate in the Arts, Millsaps College
- 2009: Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album, Loverly
- 2010: Added to Mississippi Blues Trail[14]
- 2010: Best Vocal Album, NPR Music Jazz Critics Poll 2010, Silver Pony
- 2011: Best Traditional Jazz Album, BET Soul Train Award, Silver Pony
- 2015: Honorary doctorate in Fine Arts, The New School
- 2015: Spirit of Ireland Award, Irish Arts Centre
- 2020: Honorary doctorate in Music, Berklee College of Music
Discography
As leader
- Point of View (JMT, 1986)
- Days Aweigh (JMT, 1987)
- Blue Skies (JMT, 1988)
- Jumpworld (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 Note, 1993)
- New Moon Daughter (Blue Note, 1995)
- Rendezvous with Jacky Terrasson (Blue Note, 1997)
- Traveling Miles (Blue Note, 1999)
- Belly of the Sun (Blue Note, 2002)
- Glamoured (Blue Note, 2003)
- Thunderbird (Blue Note, 2006)
- Loverly (Blue Note, 2008)
- Silver Pony (Blue Note, 2010)
- Another Country (eOne, 2012)[15])
Compilations
- Songbook (JMT, 1995)
- Sings Standards(Verve, 2002)
- Love Phases Dimensions: From the JMT Years (Edel, 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 (JMT, 1987)
- Sine Die (Pangaea, 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 Wynton Marsalis
- Blood on the Fields (Columbia, 1997)
- Reeltime (Sony, 1999)
With The Roots
- Do You Want More?!!!??! (DGC, 1994)
- Illadelph Halflife (DGC, 1996)
With others
- New Air, Air Show No. 1(Black Saint, 1986)
- Don Byron, A Fine Line: Arias & Lieder (Blue Note, 2000)
- Terence Blanchard, Let's Get Lost (Sony, 2001)
- Terri Lyne Carrington, The Mosaic Project (Concord Jazz, 2011)
- Regina Carter, Rhythms of the Heart (Verve, 1999)
- Olu Dara, Neighborhoods (Atlantic, 2001)
- Kurt Elling, The Messenger (Blue Note, 1997)
- Robin Eubanks, Karma (JMT, 1991)
- Bill Frisell & Elvis Costello, The Sweetest Punch (Decca, 1999)
- Sophisticated Ladies (EmArcy, 2010)
- Dave Holland, Dream of the Elders (ECM, 1995)
- Javon Jackson, A Look Within (Blue Note, 1996)
- Angelique Kidjo, Oremi (Island, 1998)
- M-Base Collective, Anatomy of a Groove (Columbia, 1992)
- David Murray Black Saint Quartet, Sacred Ground (Justin Time, 2007)
- Meshell Ndegeocello, The Spirit Music Jamia: Dance of the Infidel (Shanachie, 2005)
- Greg Osby, Season of Renewal (JMT, 1990)
- Courtney Pine, Modern Day Jazz Stories (Antilles, 1995)
- David Sanchez, Street Scenes (Columbia, 1996)
- Steve Turre, Steve Turre (Verve, 1997)
- Luther Vandross, I Know (EMI, 1998)
- Count Basie Orchestra, Ella 100: Live at the Apollo! (Concord, 2020)
References
- ^ "Cassandra Wilson on Allmusic.com". Retrieved November 23, 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-19-513241-0, p. 643.
- ^ a b c d "All GRAMMY Awards and Nominations for Cassandra Wilson". www.grammy.com. July 28, 2023. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
- Encyclopædia Britannica Online
- ^ a b Leland, John. GOING HOME WITH: Cassandra Wilson; Jazz Diva Follows Sound of Her Roots, The New York Times, March 7, 2002
- ^ Watrous, Peter (December 31, 1989). "POP VIEW: Private Codes Enliven Jazz". The New York Times.
- ^ Brian Priestley, Digby Fairweather, Ian Carr. Jazz, The Rough Guide, 2nd Edition March 2000
- ^ Jones, Charisse (September 29, 1994). "IN THE STUDIO WITH: Cassandra Wilson; Singing a Song of the South". The New York Times.
- ^ Lewis, John (November 22, 2010). "The Big Interview Cassandra Wilson". The Metro.
- ^ Bankolé, Isaach De, Traveling Miles: Cassandra Wilson (Documentary, Music), Cassandra Wilson, Regina Carter, Isaach De Bankolé, retrieved July 28, 2023
- ^ "Cassandra Wilson, Mississippi Musician and Singer of Jazz, Blues, and Popular Music". www.mswritersandmusicians.com. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
- ^ "Famous Alpha Kappa Alpha Members - Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority - Pi Nu Omega Chapter". www.pinuomegaaka.org. Retrieved February 7, 2023.
- ^ "Cassandra Wilson". Mississippi Blues Trail. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
- ^ "Cassandra Wilson Signs to eOne Music". JazzTimes. March 26, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
- ^ Tamarkin, Jeff. "Legacy Recordings Signs Cassandra Wilson". jazztimes.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
External links
- Official website
- Cassandra Wilson discography at Discogs
- Cassandra Wilson at IMDb
- Cassandra Wilson at Blue Note Records
- Cassandra Wilson at Montreal International Jazz Festival