Song in Her Heart for Italy
Joan Cartwright (far right) with members of the organization she founded, Women in Jazz South Florida, Inc.
Joan Cartwright knows Italy. She should. The jazz singer and composer spent four years touring through just about every major city in the country and now proudly calls herself “Italian” and, if a deep love for the country and people is the barometer, she’s rating high on the Italiana scale.
Her favorite things about Italy?
“The people. They love music! And, of course, the food and wine” she shared with me during our phone interview Sunday night.
Jazz singer and composer, Joan Cartwright in Sicily.
Italy loves her back, too. Last year Women in Jazz South Florida, Inc. the Fort Lauderdale-based organization that Cartwright founded, was embraced by the Rome-headquartered Fondazione Adkins Chiti: Donne in Musica. Cartwright was nominated to their International Honor Committee, which puts her at the forefront of the international effort to promote and assist female equality in the arena of music, an effort supported by edicts from the United Nations and the Treaty of Amsterdam that spotlight equality for women.
Women in Jazz South Florida has over 100 members and is a truly international organization, representing female musicians from around the world who write and record in a variety of musical styles within the jazz designation.
Their mission, Cartwright remarked, is “to promote women musicians globally.”
And Cartwright is the perfect person to lead these women onto the global stage. She’s a world traveler herself, but no place seems to have affected her in the way that Italy has and, in particular, Sicily.
Her passion for the region developed during the extensive touring she did there, appearing in almost every major city — Catania, Siricusa and Messina, amongst others. Her favorite, though, was Taormina.
“One of my favorite places on the planet is Taormina, Sicily, where there is a shocking contrast between sea and mountains as a result of a great eruption of the volcano Etna. The sea is the deepest blue you can imagine. When you enter, it is very cold but, in just a short while, it is so soothing that you never want to get out. Lava formations sprinkle the beach, forming cool caves that welcome small motorboats. High up in the town, food is simply delectable and nights are filled with drinking, dancing and gaiety, as you watch tiny lights glitter along the lengthy coastline. Most of all, I love the Teatro Greco, where I dream of performing with my band, one day.”
That place in the sun, warm hearts full of fun
I long for Sicilia, where my spirit flies free
Sicilian nights full of glimmering lights
And hot summer days, where I bathed in the sea
Oh, Sicilia I need you like the heart of a child
You made me your lover and my spirit ran wild
Mediterranean isle, your perpetual smile
Will live in my mem’ry, forever, eternally
Those days spent with you I cannot forget
How you took me and held me and tasted my sweat
Since the day that I left you, my sadness is great
It only subsides, when sweet music is played
Oh, Taormina, Catania, Palermo, San Vito
I’ll come back to you with my heart in my hand
I’ll come back to your shores and remain evermore
Oh, Sicilia, Sicilia, my land and my love
Cartwright’s love for Italy continues. As a result of the relationship between Women in Jazz South Florida and Donne in Musica she’s been able to facilitate a partnership between the city of Lauderhill and Fiuggi, that will result in their being Twin Cities. The mayor of Lauderhill will be heading to Fiuggi in June to solidify that relationship.
Cartwright hopes to travel back to Italy on behalf of Women in Jazz South Florida to meet with Donne in Musica. She is currently raising funds for the trip. If you’d like to make a donation, please visit the Women in Jazz South Florida website at http://www.wijsf.org.
*Oh, Sicilia ©1996 Joan Cartwright
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