Celebrating Cassandra

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“A singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack who has expanded the playing field” (Gary Giddins), Cassandra Wilson is a musician, vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi who incorporates blues, country and folk music into her work. Named the 2017 Jazz Master in Residence at Harvard sponsored by the Office for the Arts at Harvard (OFA) and Harvard Jazz Bands (Yosvany Terry and Mark Olson, conductors), Wilson will rehearse and perform with the Jazz Bands, visit Harvard classes and an assembly for students at a Greater Boston public school, and participate in two events open to the public:

Wednesday, April 5, 4 pm: “A Conversation with Cassandra Wilson” moderated by Ingrid Monson, Quincy Jones Professor of African American Music, at the Leverett House Library Theatre, Mill St. (between Plympton and DeWolfe streets). Presented by OFA Learning From Performers. Admission free, tickets/RSVPs not required; seating first-come, first-served, subject to venue capacity.

Saturday, April 8, 8 pm: “Women in Jazz: Celebrating Cassandra Wilson,” featuring the Harvard Jazz Bands with special guest Cassandra Wilson, at Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St., Cambridge. Tickets $15, students and seniors $8, available through the Harvard Box Office at Farkas Hall, 10 Holyoke St., or by calling 617.496.2222 (phone and online orders subject to service fees). Free parking is available at the Broadway Garage, 7 Felton St.