Cassandra Wilson obituary

American jazz singer and songwriter who was inspired by the Delta blues and gospel sounds of her Mississippi childhood Cassandra Wilson, the double Grammy-winning jazz vocalist and songwriter who has died aged 70, was described in 2001 by Time magazine as “America’s best singer”.

Superlatives accompanied Wilson throughout her career; her vocal skills supported them.

Wilson’s ancestry was West African and European, and the Delta blues and gospel sounds she heard in her Mississippi childhood affected her deeply – but so did the guitar harmonies her father taught her, and the early instruction in classical piano she received from her music-teacher mother.

Both her parents were Miles Davis and Motown admirers, too.

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