MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
One of the greatest jazz singers of her generation has died. Cassandra Wilson was 70 years old.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PIPER")
CASSANDRA WILSON: (Singing) Piper, play me a song to last all day long.
MARTIN: That's Wilson singing "Piper" from her 1999 album, "Traveling Miles." Nate Chinen is here to help us remember Wilson. He's a music critic and the editorial director at the jazz- and classical-music-focused member station WRTI in Philadelphia. Nate, good morning.
NATE CHINEN, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: It's a sad day.
CHINEN: It is.
MARTIN: So what made Cassandra Wilson so special?
CHINEN: Well, you have to start with her voice. You know, it was deep. It was dusky. You know, describing it was always a challenge. But, you know, it made me think of, you know, applewood smoke or dark honey. And it was one of those voices - if you knew it at all, you knew it within a note, you know? She just was so distinctive. And that voice was so luxurious, you could forgive her if she luxuriated in it herself, but she really didn't. You know, she always resisted complacency. She was an artist who constantly pushed herself. She surrounded herself for, you know, decades with some of the most advanced jazz musicians on the scene, and they had a kind of alchemy together. It was really mysterious and daring. And that played out no matter what she was singing.
MARTIN: And she wrote her own songs, but she was also known for her covers. Which ones stand out to you?
CHINEN: Well, her Blue Note Records debut, which was called "Blue Light 'Til Dawn" - it features some of my favorites, including "Black Crow" by Joni Mitchell, who was a formative hero, and "Tupelo Honey" by Van Morrison. Then a few years later, she released "New Moon Daughter." It begins with "Strange Fruit," a song associated with Billie Holiday, and then goes right into a track by U2 - "Love Is Blindness." And later there are songs by Hank Williams and Neil Young, and then probably most famously, "Last Train To Clarksville," which was a signature hit for The Monkees.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LAST TRAIN TO CLARKSVILLE")
WILSON: (Singing) Take the last train to Clarksville, and I'll meet you at the station. You can be here by 4:30 'cause I made your reservation. Don't be slow.
MARTIN: I mean, The Monkees, right? I mean, the fact that you can go from Hank Williams and Neil Young to The Monkees, that's a wow. So, you know, she was from Jackson, Mississippi. How do you think that influenced her sound?
CHINEN: Very deeply. You know, Jackson is a southern city, of course, and it's historically a musical crossroads. It's a place where you get Delta blues and country music and gospel and jazz all in convergence. And that was Cassandra Wilson, you know? She carried that blended sensibility of American music with her, even during all those years that she lived in the Northeast, working with those great New York jazz musicians.
MARTIN: Hard to sum it up in just a few seconds, but what will Cassandra Wilson's legacy be?
CHINEN: Well, you know, with her repertoire and with her instincts, she really changed the idea of what a jazz vocalist can do and how they can do it. You know, it's hard to see there being artists like Norah Jones or Lizz Wright in the jazz space without her. And, you know, she also had influences on neo soul - people like Corinne Bailey Rae and Erykah Badu - and Americana. You know, I now hear it in artists like Rhiannon Giddens and Allison Russell.
MARTIN: All right. Have to leave it there for now. That's Nate Chinen. He's a music critic and the editorial director at member station WRTI. Nate, thank you.
CHINEN: Thank you, Michel.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "ST. JAMES INFIRMARY")
WILSON: (Singing) Let him go. Let him go. God bless him, wherever he may be. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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