OXFORD, Miss. – Renowned vocalist, songwriter and producer Cassandra Wilson is set to perform her jazzy blues compositions March 26 at the University of Mississippi’s Gertrude C. Ford Center for the Performing Arts. 
“Cassandra Wilson has really made it in the blues and jazz world as one of the premier singers and one of the most highly-regarded performers of this genre today,” said Norm Easterbrook, director of the Ford Center.
The show is set for 8 p.m. Tickets range from $30 to $37 for various seating and $10 to $15 for UM students and faculty enrolled in the Cultural Passport Program. Tickets are available by calling 662-915-7411, by visiting the UM Box Office in the Student Union from noon to 4 p.m. weekdays or the Ford Center Box Office from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, or by going to http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/
A Jackson native, Wilson was voted “America’s Best Singer” by CNN and TIME magazine in 2001. She was awarded two Grammys for her work in 1999 and 2003. The music she performs may come from a wide range of sources: African rhythms remembered, the majestic blues and guitar-borne music of the American heartland, sophisticated harmonies and syncopation of jazz, or post-modern meditations of M-Base. She has recorded more than 20 albums.
Wilson’s music has received rave reviews.
“The through line to Wilson’s work is the masterful application of her profoundly resonant voice to whatever musical undertaking lies before her, be it a Hank Williams tune, a free improvisation or a Miles Davis composition,” wrote Suzanne Lorge of All About Jazz. “Every song originates deep in her chest, close to the heart, and her performances are stripped bare of any spectacles of showmanship.”
Easterbrook encourages jazz and blues fans to attend Wilson’s performance. It is rare for Wilson to go on tour, he said.
“If someone wants to hear perhaps one of the greatest jazz and blues voices and jazz and blues interpreters of the past two decades, they should come and see this performance,” he said. “Many, many singers today emulate Cassandra Wilson.”
For a video clip of Wilson or for more information on upcoming Ford Center events, go to http://www.olemiss.edu/
For assistance related to a disability, call 662-915-7411.