Was Cassandra Wilson married? Singer’s personal life explored as she dies at 70

The music world is mourning the loss of Cassandra Wilson, the two-time Grammy Award-winning jazz singer, songwriter and producer who passed away on September 2 in Jackson, Mississippi. She was seventy years old. Wilson's manager of twenty years, Robert Torre, released a statement to WBGO, sharing the news of her passing.

"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. Her family and close friends respectfully ask for privacy during this difficult time as they grieve her loss."

Jeremiah Howard, the coroner for Hinds County, which includes Jackson, confirmed the death. No cause was provided. According to a report published by The New York Times, Wilson was first married to Anthony Wilson before tying the knot with Isaach de Bankolé. However, both of her marriages ended in divorce.

Cassandra Wilson's journey from Jackson, Mississippi to jazz greatness:

Cassandra Wilson, who was born Cassandra Fowlkes, grew up in Jackson, Mississippi, where her father worked as a jazz guitarist and bassist and her mother, a schoolteacher, had a deep love for Motown. She was six years old when she first sat down at the piano. The guitar followed at twelve, and she had started writing her own songs not long after that.

She studied theater arts and philosophy at Millsaps College before leaving to play with Bluejohn, a regional blues and jazz band. Wilson returned to Jackson in 1979, completed her studies at Jackson State University and walked away with a degree in mass communications, as she also performed with local groups including the all-women band Past Present and Future. Around the same time, she studied jazz under drummer Alvin Fielder, who became an early and significant influence on her singing.

WBGO's "Daybreak" host Gary Walker first met Wilson at the Newark studios in 1982, back when she was still unknown. She had recently moved to New York with her then-husband Anthony Wilson, who was a weekend announcer at WBGO at the time. Wilson told Walker during that first meeting that she was a jazz singer who had come to prove herself in the jazz capital of the world. Walker was saddened by the news of her passing and shared his thoughts on what set her apart.

"There were no boundaries for Cassandra Wilson as to what she explored. And she did it with that sultry, smoky voice of hers, whether she was working on a Miles Davis re-imagination, approaching a great American Standard or approaching the world of Bob Dylan. Her rendition of Dylan's 'Lay Lady Lay' is just phenomenal. Every time she approached a piece of music with that sultry, smoky vibe of hers, you thought 'this is Cassandra's music' because it was," he shared.

How Nina Simone's influence shaped Cassandra Wilson's approach to music:

As per a report shared by The New York Times, Nina Simone was among the most profound influences on Cassandra Wilson. Much like Simone, Wilson sang in a deep, sultry voice and held to a specific volume during her performances. She rarely whispered and rarely shouted. When she wanted to focus on a specific word or emotion, she had her band play softer or stop playing entirely, delivering the moment a cappella.

Wilson also shared Simone's practice of mixing songbook standards in with her own original material. And like Simone, there was an underlying feeling in almost everything she sang that touched on social justice, feminism and racial equality. Christopher John Farley, reviewing New Moon Daughter for Time, wrote that her songs felt like "seas of tranquility," where tiny emotional variations carried a major impact.

In 1997, Wilson toured internationally as part of Wynton Marsalis's Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz oratorio Blood on the Fields. Marsalis introduced her to audiences as

"Mississippi's finest, Cassandra Wilson."

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Years later, he reflected on working with her and shared,

"She was extremely serious about learning all of her parts on the piano and brought so much soul and understanding to this music, I was grateful and remain even more so as times have passed."

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