Cassandra Wilson and the Art of Jazz Singing
The death that shook up (in a good way) American culture recently was, of course, Dolly Parton's. An American original as well as an American type, she came from basically "nothing" to become an icon both of country music and savvy entrepreneurship. She was self-deprecating to the max but nobody's fool. More than that, she served as sort of a cultural bodhisattva, bestowing encouragement and good vibes upon one and all. Clearly, she is missed. However, the recent musician death that actually meant more to me was that of Cassandra Wilson, the masterful, maverick jazz singer and composer. She really broke through in the early 90s with Blue Light Till Dawn , a recording that broke the jazz singer mold. It was jazz that incorporated rural blues and country as well as West African modes of rhythm and spirituality. Nothing really ever sounded like it before, but much has since, revealing her influence on American music. She developed her sound in collaboration with the p...
