Joan Cartwright

Joan Cartwright has toured five continents and 16 countries including the U.S.A., eight European countries, Jamaica, Brazil, Mexico, Ghana, Gambia, South Africa, China and Japan, with her swinging brand of jazz and blues.

Joan Cartwright book

She is a composer and her book, IN PURSUIT OF A MELODY contains 40 songs and lyrics to standard songs: "A Night in Tunisia" by Dizzy Gillespie, "Blue Bossa" by Kenny Dorham, "Tune Up" by Miles Davis and "Bessie's Blues" by John Coltrane.

Joan Cartwright's book also contains two lectures that she's given to over 8,000 children and college students, in U.S., Switzerland, Sicily, China and Japan: WOMEN IN JAZZ and SO, YOU WANT TO BE A SINGER? Her workshops are dynamic and educational, highlighting the pitfalls and benefits of the music business. She contends that, "Knowing music theory is a step in the right direction for any singer who truly wants to excel in the world of music!"

Diva JC names any ensemble of musicians she works with "Jazz Hotline" because the music swings and it's always HOT! Her most famous Blues are "Nobody's Husband", "OH, Baby!" and "Treat Me Right And You Don't Have To Marry Me".

Joan Cartwright non profit

Joan Cartwright is the founder of WOMEN IN JAZZ SOUTH FLORIDA, INC., a non-profit dedicated to promoting Women in Jazz, locally, nationally and globally, through contacts, articles, interviews, newsletters, events, courses, clinics, workshops, lectures, research, history, archives, websites, film, audio and video recording, concerts, performances and recognition.

Joan Cartwright is a Sagittarian from New York City has a B.A. in Communications and Music from LaSalle University, (Philadelphia) and a Master’s in Communications from Florida Atlantic University. Joan studied piano, composition and theory with pianist Gerald Price, and harp with Caliope Proios. She also studied ballet and modern dance with Bernice Johnson and Lavern Porter, and African dance with Dinizulu. She's performed on television, radio and on stage at the Blue Note (NYC), The "A" Train and Erny’s (Delray Beach), O’Hara’s, Promenade and Riverwalk Sunday Jazz Brunch (Fort Lauderdale). Joan Cartwright has performed at Ellington's (Sanibel Island, FL) and JAZID (Miami Beach) in the U.S., and in eight European countries. She is the recipient of $15,000 in SEAS Grant (1997-00) for her presentation of WOMEN IN JAZZ at elementary schools in Broward County, Florida, to over 5,000 children and college students. Her research paper, The Sign of The Blues, was published in the 1993 IAJE Research Papers Journal. She offers lectures around the country and at Broward Community College (FL) on:

Women in Jazz
Jazzmen
The Sign of The Blues
Jazz: The Unmasked Rhetoric
The Cultural Politics of Commercial Jazz
The Business of Music: So, You Want To Be A Singer?

Joan Cartwright interviews for Entertainment News & Views, include Dr. Billy Taylor, Wynton Marsalis, Bobby McFerrin, Lonnie Liston Smith and Sun Ra. She interviewed Quincy Jones and Abby Lincoln for her Master's thesis, The Cultural Politics of Commercial Jazz.

Joan's original music is published by Fuzz Goodbuddy Publications (BMI).

Joan Cartwright produced the First Annual Gaiafest, "A celebration of Mother Earth with Women in Jazz", in March 1998, featuring legendary vocalists Dakota Staton and Ruth “Silky” Waters, and the Gaia All-Stars with Kim Clark (b), Bertha Hope (p), Bernice Brooks (d) and Pamela Williams (sax). In September 1998 and 1999, it was produced in the Bronx, New York. Gaiafest also will be held in New York, in 2000. Ultimately, Gaiafest will travel around the world.

Her column Inside Europe in African American Travel, the nation’s premier magazine for black travelers, covers Italy, Switzerland, England, Germany and Barcelona. Joan Cartwright has written numerous articles for The Westside Gazette, IN FOCUS MAGAZINE and Pick Up & GO!, an environmental newsletter, and her company, FYI Communications, Inc., is a clearinghouse for these publications and for
fine art.

In 1998, Joan Cartwright co-produced and co-hosted the cable show, Let’s Get Serious, with Ruth “Silky” Waters. This Miami talk show presents 36 positive role models for youth from all walks of life including politics, education, the arts and business.