Overview
- The Hinds County coroner and Wilson’s longtime manager confirmed she died at her home in Jackson, Mississippi, with her manager saying she “transitioned peacefully” and the family asking for privacy; memorial plans have not been released.
- No official cause of death has been made public and some outlets have reported differing accounts of the exact day she died, with several local officials saying it occurred Tuesday morning.
- Wilson won two Grammy Awards, was named a 2022 NEA Jazz Master, and broke through on Blue Note Records with 1993’s Blue Light ’Til Dawn, building a four‑decade career that combined jazz with blues, folk, country and R&B.
- Musicians and civic leaders, including Jon Batiste and Jackson Mayor John Horhn, issued tributes that stressed her distinctive smoky contralto and her influence on younger artists across genres.
- Her last studio album appeared in 2015, she remained a touchstone for modern vocal jazz, and the family’s request for privacy means details about cause and funeral arrangements may emerge later.