CASSANDRA WILSON
Name: Cassandra Wilson
Born: 4 December 1955 Jackson, Mississippi, United States
Cassandra Wilson (born December 4, 1955) is an American jazz musician, vocalist,
songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi.
Cassandra Wilson is the third and youngest child of Herman Fowlkes, Jr., a
guitarist, bassist and music teacher; and Mary McDaniel, an elementary school
teacher who eventually earned her Ph.D. in education. Between her mother's love
for Motown and her father's dedication to jazz, Wilson’s parents sparked her
early interest in music.
Like many jazz musicians Wilson's formal musical education consisted of
classical lessons; she studied piano from the age of six to 13 and played
clarinet in the middle school concert and marching bands. When she tired of this
training, she asked her father to teach her the guitar. Instead, he gave her a
lesson in self-reliance some Mel Bay method books. She explored the instrument
on her own, developing what she has described as an intuitive approach. During
this time she began writing her own songs, adopting a folk style. She sang and
played guitar in a folk trio with fellow students David Clark and Jack Ritter
during high school. She also appeared in the musical theater productions,
including The Wizard of Oz as Dorothy , crossing racial lines in a recently
desegregated school system.
For college, Wilson attended Millsaps College and Jackson State University. She
graduated with a degree in mass communications. Outside of the classroom, the
busy student spent her nights working with R&B, funk, and pop cover bands, also
singing in local coffeehouses. The Black Arts Music Society, founded by John
Reese and Alvin Fielder, provided her with her first opportunities to perform
bebop.
In 1981, she moved to New Orleans for a position as assistant public affairs
director for the local television station, WDSU. She did not stay long. Working
with mentors who included elder statesmen Earl Turbinton, Alvin Batiste, and
Ellis Marsalis, Wilson found encouragement to seriously pursue jazz performance
and moved to the New York City area the following year.
Name: Cassandra Wilson
Born: 4 December 1955 Jackson, Mississippi, United States
Cassandra Wilson (born December 4, 1955) is an American jazz musician, vocalist,
songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi.
Cassandra Wilson is the third and youngest child of Herman Fowlkes, Jr., a
guitarist, bassist and music teacher; and Mary McDaniel, an elementary school
teacher who eventually earned her Ph.D. in education. Between her mother's love
for Motown and her father's dedication to jazz, Wilson’s parents sparked her
early interest in music.
Like many jazz musicians Wilson's formal musical education consisted of
classical lessons; she studied piano from the age of six to 13 and played
clarinet in the middle school concert and marching bands. When she tired of this
training, she asked her father to teach her the guitar. Instead, he gave her a
lesson in self-reliance some Mel Bay method books. She explored the instrument
on her own, developing what she has described as an intuitive approach. During
this time she began writing her own songs, adopting a folk style. She sang and
played guitar in a folk trio with fellow students David Clark and Jack Ritter
during high school. She also appeared in the musical theater productions,
including The Wizard of Oz as Dorothy , crossing racial lines in a recently
desegregated school system.
For college, Wilson attended Millsaps College and Jackson State University. She
graduated with a degree in mass communications. Outside of the classroom, the
busy student spent her nights working with R&B, funk, and pop cover bands, also
singing in local coffeehouses. The Black Arts Music Society, founded by John
Reese and Alvin Fielder, provided her with her first opportunities to perform
bebop.
In 1981, she moved to New Orleans for a position as assistant public affairs
director for the local television station, WDSU. She did not stay long. Working
with mentors who included elder statesmen Earl Turbinton, Alvin Batiste, and
Ellis Marsalis, Wilson found encouragement to seriously pursue jazz performance
and moved to the New York City area the following year.