Like so many, it came as a complete shock to learn of singer and songwriter Cassandra Wilson’s passing on September 1, in Jackson, Mississippi, her hometown.
The NEA Jazz Master and two-time Grammy winner was a genre innovator like John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Nina Simone, and Betty Carter. She had a unique magical tone, prompting listeners to linger in the moment of each lyric falling ever so deep into her intoxicating web. Whether from the Great American Songbook, although she preferred her originals, she managed to put her stamp on the most well-traveled tunes, like Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit,” into a deeper emotional sphere, “Crazy He Calls Me” [Wow!] and her interpretations of the catchy pop tune “Last Train to Clarkesville” or the country hit “Wichita Lineman.” Her daring curiosity led her to record “Traveling Miles” (Blue Note 199), a brilliant vocal excursion of Miles Davis compositions.
Regardless of the song, her captivating style was always there: a slow meandering, smoky soul contralto, a mix of folk, country, and blues sprouted from her southern roots. She was a storyteller of vivid, tantalizing experiences — songs that touch your heart, like that first teenage kiss you never forgot from that bad boy or girl who rocked your world. Generations of singer-songwriters have followed her fearless trail, including Norah Jones, Lizz Wright, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Jazzmeia Horn, Charenee Wade, and Vanisha Gould.
“She was the only artist I knew to end the show with a ballad,” said guitarist Kelvyn Bell, a band member. “She lived in lots of space, a ballad full of air that shook the house. She was a real musician, another cat in the band. She let me be me, which was a blessing; I was honored to have played with her.” Bell noted Cassandra brought her innovative concepts from her time with Steve Coleman’s Five Elements and M-Bass that featured Geri Allen, Greg Osby, Graham Haynes, and Robin Eubanks, an inventive collective who played with an improvisational structure allowing creativity in motion. “Cassandra was using all the music, including avant-garde with out-the-box harmonic and rhythmic structures. The way she blended it all together was incredible.”
Bassist and composer Lonnie Plaxico had performed with Wilson for about 43 years as musician and music director. “Cassandra was like real family; we talked about everything from family to politics,” said Plaxico. I loved working with her — she always gave me a challenge the way she deconstructed songs with different basslines. She was about taking chances and not being put in a box; she wanted to recreate it with her own voice …. I keep thinking about all those tour buses, shows, one-nighters, and recordings together. She will really be missed.”
Uncompromising, adventurous genius best describes Oliver Lake as an alto saxophonist/flautist, poet, composer, and visual artist. During his distinguished career, he’s enriched the sonic sounds of jazz with such ensembles as the Oliver Lake Organ Quartet, Oliver Lake Big Band, and a longtime collaborator with Trio 3, and he co-founded the World Saxophone Quartet with Julius Hemphill, David Murray, and Hamiet Bluiett.
For over five decades, Lake’s music has crossed the lines of jazz, shining in all directions. On September 13 (at the Montclair Public Library in New Jersey), FLUX Quartet debuts a new composition for string quartet by Lake entitled “WSQ,” as well as a few of his other pieces.
Violinist Tom Chiu founded The FLUX Quartet in the late ’90s. The string quartet (two violins, cello, and viola) have performed with such innovative artists as Ornette Coleman, Wadada Leo Smith, and Henry Threadgill, and premiered more than 100 works by many of today’s foremost innovators, including Michael Byron, David First, and Lake.
Credit for online: (The Big Joe Henry Show, Bernard Purdie 2020, CC BY 3.0)
“I have collaborated and performed with FLUX for over 20 years. It’s one of the many ensembles I’ve had a long relationship with, and they have continued to play my music,” said Lake during a phone interview. “I love writing for strings; the violin and alto saxophone have similar sounds. When [violinist] Roy Jenkins and I were AACM members, we often played in a duo format.” The premiere composition “WSQ” is the abbreviation for World Saxophone Quartet, which Lake says “brings back good memories.”
Lake’s artwork will be on exhibit during his music premiere featuring 10 pieces entitled En Souls that will run now through September 29. I wanted to say now until the souls run out, but that would have been too corny!
An afternoon of Lake’s music and art what a spirited journey at 4 p.m. FREE to the public.
Festival of New Trumpet Music is an astounding force of trumpeters flirting in new moments of sound and exploration, and is taking off on September 14-20 for seven nights of jazz across Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Jersey City, at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music, Close Up, The Sultan Room, The Jazz Gallery, The Statuary, and Nublu. This grassroots festival, run by and for a community of trumpeters and directed by Dave Douglas since 2003, is now storming into its 24th season.
The festival will bring the aspiring, those of a new dawn, and already established musicians to the bandstand: Pablo Masis Sparks, Jim Seeley Quintet, Joey Curreri/Marquis Hill, Miranda Agnew, Adam O’Farrill’s Elephant, Pete Rodgruiz Quintet, and Milena Casado.
On September 15, The New School will host the 2026 Festival of New Trumpet Music Award of Recognition ceremony honoring Ahmed Abdullah, the legendary trumpeter, composer, educator, and longtime member of Sun Ra’s Arkestra. For a complete schedule, visit fontmusic.org.
On September 15-17 at Brooklyn’s Shapeshifter Lab (837 Union Street), a celebration of the life and work of John Coltrane will focus on Jimmy Garrison, whose strumming bass was John’s heartbeat — together they introduced a new sound in the jazz vernacular.
Garrison was Coltrane’s mainstay, the backbone, his glue holding the rhythm and harmony foundation with his colorful, resonant tones that can be heard on over two dozen of Coltrane’s most seminal albums beginning with “Live at the Village Vanguard” (Impulse!, 1961), “Coltrane,” and “Duke Ellington & John Coltrane” (both on Impulse!, 1962), and “A Love Supreme” (Impulse!, 1964).
Matt Garrison, Jimmy’s son, an accomplished electric guitarist, is a central figure in this celebration. On September 16, Matt will join forces with Ravi Coltrane (son of John and Alice) and Marcus Gilmore (grandson of Roy Haynes) — three musicians whose family histories are deeply embedded in jazz. “We have been left an invaluable treasure, and we all are committed to pushing it further ahead in our respective ways,” said Matt.
They will be joined by Arturo O’Farrill’s Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra/Winnie Dahlgren/Aaron Goldberg, all presenting their music inspired by John and Alice Coltrane, and Jimmy. “I specifically asked for that to be the directive of this celebration,” Matt noted. “I wanted something that they heard from those progenitors of the art form, that was then synthesized into their own language and set forth for this festival.” Special guests will include Stanley Clarke, Reggie Workman, and John Patitucci. For a complete listing, visit shapeshifterplus.org.
The 16th Annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival will take place September 17–20, 2026 in Downtown Pittsburgh, centered on Liberty Avenue and the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, featuring artists Lalah Hathaway, Terri Lyne Carrington, Bernard “Pretty” Purdie (the legendary elder of this festival that boasts of recordings with James Brown “Say It Loud, I’m Black and Proud”), avant gardist Albert Ayler, Nina Simone, Wilson Pickett, Benny Golson, Herbie Hancock, Shirley Scott, Louis Armstrong, the Five Stairsteps, Dizzy Gillespie, Eddie Palmieri, Aretha Franklin, Gil Scott-Heron, Bette Midler, (and his beat doesn’t stop), Eric Roberson, Orrin Evans, Lady Blackbird (categorized as a jazz vocalist but she packs the timber of a soulster with deep gospel roots. If she just sings “I’ll Fix It,” I’m good, but her repertoire is much more diverse than that one tune and just as captivating).
The 2026 Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival (PIJF) marks its 16th edition and celebrates Our America250, honoring the cultural impact of jazz, soul, blues, gospel, and R&B not only on these United States but the world. Most performances are free and held outdoors on Liberty Avenue, with additional ticketed concerts at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC). For a complete schedule, visit Pittsburghjazzfest.org.
Correction: Last week’s column misstated the given name of The Pocket’s co-owner. He is Martin Porter, not Paul Martin. We apologize for this error.
