Joan Cartwright

The rich sounds of Jazz and Blues is a genre of music which has its roots planted in the echoes of the original African slave hymns. It expresses and vocalizes the sounds of a history of peoples, and culture which is so richly found in the African American ethnicity. Breaking the chains of racial tensions and telling the stories of relationships, love, and soul expression these sounds unites us all because it tells of life’s stories that goes beyond the color barriers. Joan Cartwright is one of the leading Jazz and Blues artists and composer who is still with us today, and I had the privilege of meeting her and participating in this rich history of music.

As we studied about “Women in Jazz”, Joan Cartwright made it clear that women had their place in the origins of Jazz Music. From the West Coast of Africa to the Clubs of Harlem she tells the story of greats such as, Betty Carter, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Cole Porter and others. I enjoyed very much singing along her famous song “Love Translation” which speaks of how love unites us all through the trail of life, country, continent, world, and universe. With her charisma and smiles she ignited the floor and brought us the rich sounds that with its history, imparted in us all a rich experience and feeling of pride. For some of us, it reminded us of the early sixties and seventies and perhaps for others she gave a great history lesson. With tambourine in hand, she made us dance and feel the joy of participating in a diverse event not focusing on our difference but in our similarities.

Listening to the history of Jazz and Blues, we continue to see an evolution of sound, music and message which embraces its history. From the drums of Africa to the trumpets of Jazz it is so clear that we have evolved into a diverse group of people with a diverse ability to share history from the lens of time. It is not usual to see a lady saxophonist play her tunes while “lady melody” played her keyboard. Yes, I must say women have come a long way and they are here to stay. They had rime, they had rhythm, and they had blues. Much prettier than their counterparts, these women had style. Culturally this event was rich in information, and brought to life the history, emotions and feelings of the great women of Jazz.

By embarking in this event in “Black History Month”, I learned, laughed and participated in the sounds of my ancestral background. I took my sandals off and sang along in some of the song such as “I sing because I’m happy”. It reminded me that we all come from one, we all are one, and we share in one common goal called “life”.