Cassandra Wilson, the 2-time Grammy Award-winning jazz singer, dies at 70

NEW YORK (AP) — Cassandra Wilson, the two-time Grammy Award-winning jazz singer, songwriter and producer has died. She was 70.

Dubbed America's best singer by Time magazine in 2001, Wilson was best known for her genre-bending voice, which expanded the boundaries of traditional blues-based jazz and worked effortlessly across folk, pop, R&B, country and beyond. At the heart of all her work was her idiosyncratic contralto, a soulful sound distinctly tied to her roots.

As Jon Batiste put it in a eulogy on Wednesday, Wilson sounded like the South.

She died in her native Jackson, Mississippi, on Tuesday morning, the Hinds County Coroner Jeramiah Howard confirmed.

“It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Cassandra Wilson, the Grammy Award-winning and legendary jazz artist. Cassandra Wilson transitioned peacefully at home, surrounded by family, close friends, and her manager,” said a statement from her manager to jazz radio station WBGO.

Born and raised in Jackson to musician Herman B. Fowlkes and teacher Mary Fowlkes, Wilson showed an early love of music listening to Motown, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk. At 6, she started piano lessons. She played clarinet in marching bands. She performed at coffeehouses and in cover bands while studying at Millsaps College and Jackson State University.

In the early ‘80s, she mentored under jazz greats in New Orleans before moving to New York City and joining Steve Coleman’s M-Base Collective — eventually becoming its main vocalist.

Her instantly recognizable voice earned her four Grammy nominations and two wins for best jazz vocal album. Those were in 1997 for “New Moon Daughter” and 2009 for “Loverly.”

In 2015, it was Wilson who gave a special concert at the famed Apollo Theater to commemorate the 100th birthday of blues singer Billie Holiday, the legendary American jazz vocalist who died in New York City at age 44. That same year, Wilson released her last album, “Coming Forth by Day,” an homage to Holiday.

In 2022, Wilson was named a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master, one of the highest honors awarded to jazz musicians in the United States.

“She had an unmistakable vocal tone, phrasing and her approach of weaving folkloric, R&B and diasporic music together with experimental and popular genres had a major impact on me,” Batiste said in his tribute to Wilson on Instagram.

“Her Mississippi heritage was always present in everything no matter how expansive her artistry evolved,” he wrote in the caption of a clip showing them together on Brazilian TV in 2009. “She was one of the first people to take me on tour around the world, the great Cassandra Wilson.”

Jackson Mayor John Horhn said the city “has lost an extraordinary native daughter, and the world has lost a singular musical voice.”

“Cassandra Wilson carried the sound, spirit and history of Mississippi with her wherever her music reached,” said the mayor's statement, shared with WJTV. “Her work had rare depth of character and a profound understanding of how music moves people, tells stories and connects generations.”

FILE - Singer Cassandra Wilson performs at the 48th Annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Gala at the New in New York on June 15, 2017. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - US jazz musician Cassandra Wilson poses during an interview in Cologne, Germany on Sept. 25, 2003. (AP Photo/Hermann J. Knippertz, File)

FILE - Singer Cassandra Wilson appears at the 48th Annual Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Gala in New York on June 15, 2017. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Cassandra Wilson performs at the JVC Jazz Festival in Newport, R.I., on Aug. 10, 2003. (AP Photo/Stew Milne, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts saw a physically compromised Shohei Ohtani at the plate Wednesday night when the four-time MVP was 0 for 4 with four strikeouts.

He plans to have a conversation with the training staff and Ohtani on Thursday to “really try to figure out where he's at physically” and weigh giving him a day off, although Roberts said he doesn't think a stint on the injured list is necessary.

“I saw the same thing that everyone saw,” Roberts said after an 8-6 loss in 10 innings to the St. Louis Cardinals. “You could see the swing wasn’t the swing that we’re used to seeing. He's not close to optimal.”

The two-way superstar hasn't pitched in a game since July 3 because of lingering pain in his left knee and right biceps, which may be affecting his offense. He is hitting .279 after striking out four consecutive times for the first time this season.

“I know he feels that he needs to post and be in the lineup and if he's upright he should play,” Roberts said. “I respect that, but if he’s feeling the way that he visibly looks, then it's really not helping anyone.”

Earlier Wednesday, Roberts had said he had no indication that Ohtani was physically ailing.

After the game, the manager said, “I’ve seen it over the last couple weeks where he hasn’t been who he is.”

Ohtani hasn't spoken to the media in two weeks.

“I still feel there’s enough days on the calendar of the season that we have plenty of time to make whatever decision we make and to have him come out of it in a better spot,” Roberts said.

The Dodgers remain uncertain whether Ohtani will pitch again this season.

He threw a 20-pitch bullpen session last Friday but was scratched from a potential start at Detroit two days later. Roberts said that until he sees Ohtani throw another bullpen he won't know the next step in his pitching progression.

Asked if it's possible Ohtani won't pitch again this season, Roberts said, “It's an option.”

Before being shut down, Ohtani was 8-2 with a 1.79 ERA in 14 starts.

If Ohtani can't start on the mound, would he be a candidate to play at an outfield corner?

“Not on the table right now,” Roberts said.

Ohtani hasn't played the outfield in the major leagues since 2021, when he appeared there in seven games for the Los Angeles Angels.

If Ohtani isn't physically capable of starting a game, it's possible he could enter as a reliever.

If he starts as the designated hitter and then moves to the mound, the so-called Ohtani Rule would kick in and the Dodgers would lose their DH for the rest of the game. But if he moves from the mound to the outfield, he could remain in the lineup.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani reacts after being hit by a pitch during the second inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani (17) strikes out during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani (17) reacts after taking a strike during the 10th inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/William Liang)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani takes a lead off first during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani comes around to score on a double by Dodgers' Will Smith, not pictured, during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani looks on from the dugout during the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea)