In this special edition of Mississippi Stories, Mississippi Today Editor-at-Large Marshall Ramsey sits down with this year’s Hal’s St. Paddy’s Parade Grand Marshal, Cassandra Wilson. Cassandra is a legendary American jazz singer, songwriter, and producer from Jackson, Mississippi.

She is one of the most successful female Jazz singers and has been described by critic Gary Giddins as “a singer blessed with an unmistakable timbre and attack [who has] expanded the playing field” by incorporating blues, country, and folk music into her work. She has won numerous awards, including two Grammys, was named “America’s Best Singer” by Time magazine in 2001, received the 2009 Mississippi Governor’s Award for Artistic Excellence in Music, and has her own Mississippi Blues Trail marker.

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