Joan Cartwright
Dr. 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. 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’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!”
Joan’s website
Blues singers were an element of the subculture created from Africans who, while enslaved, sang European music. Classical listeners considered them crude and loud. However, jazz liberated singers from the precise pitch and calculated rhythms of European music. The melody was more natural and the rhythm was more like that of speech. The first black women singers came out of the spiritual and blues styles, and later, developed the jazz styles. This exhibit displays the contents of Dr. Cartwright’s vault, which includes photos, paintings and artwork by Charles Mills. (See Jun 19, 2020 Mills exhibit at CSMOS) Visit us at 170 NW 5th Avenue, Delray Beach to see the full-sized, full-color images of the Cartwright Collection. Museum hours: Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 11am – 1pm.
Dr. 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. 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’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!”
Joan’s website
Blues singers were an element of the subculture created from Africans who, while enslaved, sang European music. Classical listeners considered them crude and loud. However, jazz liberated singers from the precise pitch and calculated rhythms of European music. The melody was more natural and the rhythm was more like that of speech. The first black women singers came out of the spiritual and blues styles, and later, developed the jazz styles. This exhibit displays the contents of Dr. Cartwright’s vault, which includes photos, paintings and artwork by Charles Mills. (See Jun 19, 2020 Mills exhibit at CSMOS) Visit us at 170 NW 5th Avenue, Delray Beach to see the full-sized, full-color images of the Cartwright Collection. Museum hours: Thursday, Friday and Saturday, 11am – 1pm.
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Ella FitzgeraldElla Fitzgerald Dubbed “The First Lady of Song,” Ella Fitzgerald was the most popular female jazz singer in the United States for more than half a century. In her lifetime, she won 13 Grammy awards and sold over 40 million albums. Her voice was flexible, wide-ranging, accurate and ageless. She could sing sultry ballads, sweet … Continue reading
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Dorothy DoneganDorothy Donegan Dorothy Donegan was an American jazz pianist and vocalist, primarily known for performing in the stride piano and boogie-woogie style. She also played bebop, swing jazz, and classical music. Donegan was born and grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and began studying piano in 1928. She took her first lessons from Alfred N. Simms, a West Indian pianist who also taught Cleo Brown. She graduated from … Continue reading
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Nina SimoneNina Simone Eunice Kathleen Waymon , known professionally as Nina Simone, was an American singer, songwriter, musician, arranger, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned a broad range of musical styles including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop. The sixth of eight children born to a poor family in Tryon, North Carolina, Simone initially aspired to be a concert pianist. With the help of a … Continue reading
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Melba ListonMelba Liston Melba Doretta Liston was an American jazz trombonist, arranger, and composer. Other than those playing in all female bands she was the first woman trombonist to play in big bands during the 1940s and 1960s, but as her career progressed she became better known as an arranger particularly in partnership with pianist Randy Weston. Famous Song: My Reverie … Continue reading
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Mary Lou WilliamsMary Lou Williams Mary Lou Williams (born Mary Elfrieda Scruggs)was an American jazz pianist, arranger, and composer. She wrote hundreds of compositions and arrangements and recorded more than one hundred records (in 78, 45, and LP versions).[2] Williams wrote and arranged for Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, and she was friend, mentor, and teacher to Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Tadd Dameron, Bud Powell, and Dizzy Gillespie. … Continue reading
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Lena HorneLena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne was an American singer, dancer, actress, and civil rights activist. Horne’s career spanned over 70 years, appearing in film, television, and theater. Horne joined the chorus of the Cotton Club at the age of 16 and became a nightclub performer before moving to Hollywood. Famous Song: Stormy Weather American … Continue reading
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Josephine BakerJosephine Baker Josephine Baker (born Freda Josephine McDonald, naturalised French Joséphine Baker; 3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French entertainer, French Resistance agent, freemason[1] and civil rights activist. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted France. She was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture, the 1927 silent film Siren of the … Continue reading
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Ethel WatersEthel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts, but she began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Waters notable recordings include “Dinah“, “Stormy Weather“, “Taking a Chance on Love“, “Heat Wave“, “Supper Time“, “Am … Continue reading
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