Cassandra Wilson, Grammy-Winning Vocalist Signs With Legacy Recordings

NEW YORK, Nov. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, has signed Grammy-winning American vocalist Cassandra Wilson to the label, it was announced today by Adam Block, President, Legacy Recordings. 

Wilson's first album for Legacy, Coming Forth By Day, is slated for release in spring 2015.

A musical homage to legendary jazz vocalist Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan on April 7, 1915) on the 100th anniversary of the singer's birth, Coming Forth By Day is Cassandra Wilson's moody, soulful showcase for contemporary yet timeless interpretations of standards associated with Lady Day. Coming Forth By Day was produced by Nick Launay, known as Nick Cave's producer for the last decade among many other adventurous credits.

"Cassandra Wilson is one of the world's most elegant and tasteful artists. Her decision to channel the spirit of Billie Holiday on her new album is a perfect complement to Legacy's plans for celebrating Lady Day's centennial," said Adam Block. "It's an absolute treat to work with Cassandra in the realization of this unexpected and sublimely beautiful music."

Wilson recorded Coming Forth By Day in Los Angeles at Seedy Underbelly studios with an A list musical team including producer Launay (Nick Cave, Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, Arcade Fire), guitarists T Bone Burnett and Nick Zinner of the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, string arranger Van Dyke Parks and rhythm section The Bad Seeds (drummer Thomas Wydler and bassist Martyn P. Casey). 

 "A dream of mine is happening," said Cassandra Wilson, "I've been in love with Billie Holiday's voice since the moment I heard it, and she has inspired me throughout my career."  

Cassandra Wilson will embark on a highly-anticipated world tour in February 2015 and is slated to make her headlining debut at Harlem's fabled Apollo Theater on Friday, April 10, 2015. The artist will close out 2014 with performances in Norway, Germany, Slovakia and Italy in November and December.

About Cassandra Wilson:

Hailing from Jackson, Mississippi, American jazz musician/vocalist/songwriter/producer Cassandra Wilson began playing piano at six, guitar by the age of twelve and was working as a vocalist by the mid-'70s, singing a wide variety of material.

After moving to New York City in the early 80's, Cassandra met saxophonist Steve Coleman and became one of the founding members of the groundbreaking M-Base Collective, pioneering proponents of a structured improvisation aesthetic that continues to influence the direction of jazz, fusion and jam-based rock. 

At the completion of her stint with M-Base, Cassandra signed with Blue Note Records in 1992 and released a landmark album titled Blue Light 'Til Dawn which paved the way for a new generation of jazz singers seeking an approach and repertoire that challenged the supremacy of the American Standard songbook.  Wilson continues to interpret vintage blues, country and folk music in her repertoire.

Among her many awards and honors, Cassandra Wilson has earned two Grammys (1996, Best Jazz Vocal Performance for New Moon Daughter; 2009, Best Jazz Vocal Album for Loverly); been named Down Beat's Female Jazz Vocalist of the Year (1994-1996); received the Montreal International Jazz Festival's Miles Davis Prize (1999); named "America's Best Singer" in Time magazine (2001); received honorary doctorate in the Arts from Millsaps College (2003); added to the Mississippi Blues Trail (2010); and taken home the BET Soul Train Award (2011, Best Traditional Jazz Album for Silver Pony).

Cassandra Wilson performed one of the leading roles in Wynton Marsalis' "Blood on the Fields", the first jazz work to receive a Pulitzer Prize.

 Legacy Recordings: 

Legacy Recordings, the catalog division of Sony Music Entertainment, is home to the world's foremost library of historically significant commercial recordings, a peerless collection of works by the most important musical artists of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.  Across a variety of platforms, the label offers contemporary music fans access to thousands of meticulously restored and remastered archival titles representing virtually every musical genre including popular, rock, jazz, blues, R&B, folk, country, gospel, Broadway musicals, movie soundtracks, rap/hip-hop, world music, classical, comedy and more.

Founded in 1990 by CBS Records (rebranded Sony Music in 1991), Legacy has expanded on its original mission (preserving and reissuing back catalogs of Columbia Records, Epic Records and associated CBS labels) to provide new and innovative avenues for artist and repertoire exposure including Grammy winning curated retrospectives, social media campaigns, Oscar winning soundtracks, new talent signings and groundbreaking campaigns for established artists and catalog.  Following the creation of Sony BMG Music Entertainment in 2005, Legacy assumed responsibility for recordings from the archives of the BMG family of labels (including RCA Records, Arista, J Records, Jive, Profile, Silvertone, Sony BMG Nashville and Windham Hill, as well as imprints including Bang!, CTI, Mainstream, Monument, Ode, and others).

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SOURCE Legacy Recordings