Cassandra Wilson, the Grammy-winning jazz singer whose genre-defying approach expanded the possibilities of contemporary vocal jazz, has died aged 70.

Wilson died at her home in Jackson, Mississippi, surrounded by family and close friends. A cause of death has yet to be announced.

Her voice was a well-known one in Australia and not just through her recordings. Wilson performed as a major headlining act at the 2013 Melbourne International Jazz Festival and performing at the Sydney Opera House. Earlier in her touring career she visited the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.

Cassandra Wilson performing at the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in Tompkins Square Park, New York City in 2007. Photo WikiMedia Commons

Born in in 1955, Wilson grew up in a musical household. Her father, Herman B. Fowlkes, was a musician and her mother, Mary, a teacher. She began piano lessons at six, learned guitar at 12 and played clarinet in marching bands. While studying at Millsaps College and Jackson State University, she performed in coffeehouses and cover bands before establishing herself as a vocalist in the 1970s.

Her musical education ranged widely, taking in Motown, Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk alongside the blues, folk...