Cassandra Wilson

Cassandra Wilson is a world renowned vocalist, songwriter and producer whose sultry, honey-velvet vocals, jazzy blues compositions and inventive interpretations of other artists’ material led CNN and TIME Magazine to name her “America’s Best Singer.” Born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi in the1960s and 70s by musician/educator parents, Wilson studied piano for 13 years and played clarinet in her junior high school bands. She could also be heard performing Joni Mitchell songs behind an acoustic guitar, fronting a large funk band, or sharing the stage with her “all-girl band.” Wilson lived for a time to New Orleans, where she performed with Ellis Marsalis, later moving to New York to be part of the jazz scene there. She became the main vocalist with Steve Coleman’s M-Base Collective after which she began recording her own projects, including her Grammy-winning New Moon Daughter; her 2006 release Thunderbird produced by T Bone Burnett; and her most recent CD, Loverly. As a performing artist, Wilson has defied categorization and convention. The music she performs comes from a wide range of sources including African rhythms, the blues and guitar-borne music of the American heartland, sophisticated jazz harmonies and rhythms, and post-modern M-Base meditations. Her rich vocal timbre and tone is the thread that weaves all of these influences together. Ms. Wilson has won numerous awards in recognition of her work, including the Downbeat Reader’s Poll for Best Female Vocalist and the Montreal International Jazz Festival Miles Davis Prix Award. Wilson returned to her native Mississippi in 2000 to establish Ojah Media Group, an independent multi-media entity dedicated to documenting and marketing the unique sounds emanating from Mississippi’s fertile soil, and its multi-cultural influences. Ojah means “the marketplace,” in Yoruban. Performing with Ms. Wilson are Jonathan Batiste, keyboards; Marvin Sewell, guitars; Reginald Veal, bass; Lekan Babalola, percussion; and Herlin Riley, drums.

Tickets $25–$60. Member, Student and Multiple Concert Sales Discounts available at Outpost Performance Space Box Office 505-268-0044; Lensic Box Office 505-988-1234; or on the web www.ticketssantafe.org