GRAMMY-WINNING 90s singer Cassandra Wilson has died aged 70.
The jazz singer died surrounded by family and friends on Wednesday.
The award-winning jazz vocalist from Jackson, Mississippi, worked with the Roots and co-founded the M-Base Collective.
Her manager of 20 years Robert Torre told WBGO: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Cassandra Wilson, the Grammy Award-winning and legendary jazz artist.
“Cassandra Wilson transitioned peacefully at home, surrounded by family, close friends, and her manager.”
Cassandra blended blues, country and folk music into her work.
The singer was nominated for four Grammys, and won two in the Best Jazz Vocal Album.
Cassandra won for her 1997 album New Moon Daughter and for her 2007 album Loverly.
She was described by critic Gary Giddins as “a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack who has expanded the playing field”.
Cassandra was named as a Jazz Master in 2022 by the National Endowment of the Arts.
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Tributes flooded in for the star, with fellow NEA Jazz Master Dorthaan Kirk saying she is “devastated” by the loss.
She said they were like family and Cassandra called her “Mother Kirk”.
Dorthaan said: “I’m just devastated. Cassandra completely related to me because she looked up to me as an elder and somebody that was in the business.”
Cassandra took up piano at six, guitar at 12 and launched her career as a vocalist in the 70s, moving to the Big Apple the next decade where she became one of the founding members of the M-Base Collective.
She later signed with Blue Note Records in 1992 and released her seminal album titled Blue Light ‘Till Dawn.
The singer collaborated on albums with Coleman, Greg Osby, and Wynton Marsalis.
Cassandra sang as the character Leona in Marsalis’ recording of his Blood on the Fields oratorio, which became the first jazz composition to win a Pulitzer Prize.
She was a guest vocalist on the Roots’ Silent Treatment and One Shine.
And star collaborators on her own work included Elvis Costello, John Legend, Jon Batiste and Ravi Coltrane.
She told The New York Times in 1994: “I continue to choose the path I take musically,
“And it’s not motivated by becoming famous or having a lot money, or any other pop motivation.”