Cassandra Wilson to Celebrate Billie Holiday at Harris Center, 3/2

Join Cassandra Wilson as she celebrates Billie Holiday's 100th birthday with a preview of her upcoming album, Coming Forth By Day: A Celebration of Billie Holiday. Harris Center for the Arts is one of her stops on a worldwide promotion tour of this homage dedicated to the beauty, power, and genius of Billie Holiday.

Cassandra Wilson has been named America's Best Singer by Times Magazine stating, "Soulful, sensual and lyrical, she's carrying on the tradition of great jazz vocalist." A two-time Grammy Award winning artist, Down Beat Magazine's Jazz Vocalist of the Year for three consecutive years, and multiple honors in the jazz genre, Cassandra has changed the way people think about jazz.

Cassandra Wilson - Coming Forth By Day: A Celebration of Billie Holiday will take place on Monday, March 2, 2015 at 7:30 pm. Tickets are priced at $25-$39; Premium $45; Students with ID $12. Tickets are available online at www.harriscenter.net or from the Harris Center Ticket Office at 916-608-6888 from 10 am to 6 pm Monday through Saturday, and two hours before show time. Parking is included in the price of the ticket. Harris Center is located on the west side of Folsom Lake College campus in Folsom, CA, facing East Bidwell Street.

Cassandra reflects "A dreams of mine is happening. I've been in love with Billie Holiday's voice since the moment I heard it, and she has inspired me through my career."

Coming Forth by Day is a vehicle for the re-emergence of Billie Holiday's songbook in the 21st century. Inspired by the Kemetic texts that give guidance through the afterlife, Coming Forth by Day is a collection of musical spells and prescriptions for navigating the myths surrounding Holiday's life and times. With Coming Forth By Day, interpretations of iconic songs associated with this incomparable, charismatic, and revolutionary tone master are on full display.

Wilson has taken a characteristically fearless approach to "Lady Day's" iconic catalog. Together with producer Nick Launay (known for his work with Nick Cave), Wilson has chosen songs that span Holiday's tragic, abbreviated career - some lesser known and many famous. She also penned the dream-like new "Last Song (For Lester)," imagined as a heartbreaking final message from Billie to her lover Lester Young. (Upon getting the news that Young had passed away, Billie flew straight from overseas to his funeral but was distraught as she was denied the opportunity to sing by Young's family.)

The album boasts a surprising cast of characters. It was produced by Nick Launay, who has worked closely with Nick Cave for the past decade in addition to Arcade Fire and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It includes guitarists T Bone Burnett and Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs string arranger Van Dyke Parks, rhythm section The Bad Seeds (drummer Thomas Wydler and bassist Martyn P. Casey) and longtime Cassandra collaborators Jon Cowherd on piano and Kevin Breit on guitar.

"We set out to dig deep into the lyrics, and the meaning behind why they were written. The result is a whole new experience for the listener, both those familiar with Cassandra and newcomers. It's moving and engaging beyond words...this one is for the ears and soul," says producer Nick Launay.

Wilson has continued in fresh and creative ways to interpret jazz, vintage blues, country and folk music up until the present day. Her awards include: two Grammys, the Django D'Or, The Edison Music Award, and a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail. She also performed one of the leading roles in Wynton Marsalis' "Blood on the Fields," the first jazz work to receive a Pulitzer Prize.

In 2015, Cassandra Wilson joined forces with the prestigious label, Legacy, a subsidiary of Sony Music. Her latest release, Coming Forth By Day, will be released on the 100th anniversary of Billie Holiday's birth - April 7, 2015.

Fans seeing Cassandra Wilson live in 2015 can receive an exclusive discount when they pre-order Coming Forth By Day here: http://smarturl.it/CassandraD2C. Enter the discount code "TAKE2OFF" at checkout to receive the exclusive fan discount!

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