RENOWNED singer, songwriter, composer, author and historian Joan Cartwright will be the special guest performer for Blues on the Green, the US Embassy’s annual African American History Month Concert which pays homage to the enormous contributions of African-Americans to the musical genre of the blues.

Blues on the Green is scheduled for Friday, February 26, at the historic Hope Gardens and, as usual, the concert is free and open to the public. Blues on the Green will also see performances from talented Jamaicans Maurice Gordon and his group, the Mohjarock Band, as well as singers Maria Myrie, Gawaine Campbell and Jermaine Blake.

Top-billed performer Joan Cartwright, known internationally as Diva JC, is the first woman in the world of music with a jazz and blues songbook. Her book In Pursuit of a Melody contains forty original songs as well as lyrics to the songs of jazz legends Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, and others. Diva JC has authored eight other books, five about music and three collections of poetry. Her latest book, A History of African-American Jazz and Blues, examines the cultural politics of producing and promoting African-American jazz and blues.

Diva JC has toured five continents with her swinging brand of jazz and blues. She is passionate about sharing her knowledge and, for thirteen years, has spoken to thousands of school-age children and college students in the United States, Switzerland, Italy, China, and Japan, using her presentations Women In Jazz and So You Want To Be A Singer?

While in Jamaica, Diva JC will take her musical message to Linstead Primary and Junior High School in St Catherine as well as Windward Road Primary and Kingston.

Patrons wishing to attend Blues on the Green may park at the Jamaica College and take the free shuttle to Hope Gardens. The shuttle service starts at 5:00 pm.