Cassandra Wilson

Cassandra Wilson, who died in September 2026, had one of the most unmistakable voices in modern jazz, that deep, unhurried contralto that wraps around a lyric like it has all the time in the world. What I love is her refusal to stay in a box: she reimagined Robert Johnson blues, Hank Williams, and even pop tunes as if they were always meant to be sung this slow and this dark. New Moon Daughter is a desert-island record for me, all atmosphere and ache. She made it cool again to let a song breathe instead of showing off, and that quiet confidence is exactly why she earned her NEA Jazz Master title.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

Cassandra Wilson (December 4, 1955 – September 1, 2026) was an American jazz singer, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi. Known for her distinctive smoky contralto, she blended jazz with blues, folk, and country, achieving acclaim with albums such as Blue Light 'til Dawn and New Moon Daughter. She was a two-time Grammy Award winner and was named an NEA Jazz Master.

Name (English)

Cassandra Wilson

Name (Japanese)

カサンドラ・ウィルソン

Reading

かさんどら・うぃるそん

Born

December 4, 1955 – September 1, 2026

Origin

Jackson, Mississippi, United States

Occupation

Jazz singer / Songwriter / Jazz musician / Recording artist / Singer

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Sagittarius / Goat

University

Jackson State University

Awards & achievements

• NEA Jazz Masters Award

• Official sitehttps://www.cassandrawilson.com
• Xhttps://x.com/reallycassandra
• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassandra%20Wilson
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AB%E3%82%B5%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89%E3%83%A9%E3%83%BB%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A3%E3%83%AB%E3%82%BD%E3%83%B3
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q239860

Tags

• From Mississippi
• Jazz singer
• Songwriter
• Jazz musician

Last updated

November 2, 2026

Only publicly available facts are listed; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Base data was compiled from Wikidata from June 2026 onward; ages are recalculated daily and deaths are checked against Wikidata on an ongoing basis. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.