Grammy Award-winning American jazz singer Cassandra Wilson has died at the age of 70.
Wilson died peacefully at her home in Jackson, Mississippi, on Wednesday, surrounded by family, close friends and her manager, Robert Torre, said in a statement. Her cause of death was not disclosed.
Wilson, a celebrated singer-songwriter and producer, was renowned for her rich contralto voice and a career spanning three decades.
She won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance in 1997 for New Moon Daughter and Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2009 for Loverly.
She also featured in Wynton Marsalis’ Blood on the Fields, a 1997 oratorio that became the first jazz work to win the Pulitzer Prize.
Wilson collaborated with several prominent musicians, including Steve Coleman, Greg Osby and hip-hop group The Roots.
Paying tribute, musician Jon Batiste described Wilson’s voice and musical style as influential, adding that “she sounded like the South.”
Her family and close friends have requested privacy following her death.