“The project was born at first on the complicity of some of us and the gradual desire to extend it to as many jazz singers as possible,” says Casale. “ The choice of the song was influenced by my tribute to Joni Mitchell released a year ago (JONI Incipit Records for Egea Music). She, Joni, is a point of reference for all of us because of her voice, her compositions, her lyrics and also because she has developed her career throughout pop-folk and jazz in a constant research. ‘The Dry Cleaner from Des Moines’ by Charles Mingus was initially an ‘aesthetic’ choice, in the sense that, despite having a virtuoso melody, the song is based on a blues turn that in every jazz club in the world is known to put everyone together. In fact, the result is incredibly live and my colleagues are all extraordinary.”
The lyrics are about a woman playing at the Games Room, embodying the right for every woman to have fun freely.
“However, as it sometimes happens” Rossana continues, “ unexpected meanings suddenly are added to your intentions. The text brings out the word ‘luck’ that we sing repeatedly (lucky lucky), alone or in chorus, throughout the whole song.
You have to be lucky. You are lucky if you do not encounter violence during your entire life. Men certainly have the fortune of not knowing the humiliation and pain of daily attacks that we women instead know too well. There’s the absolute urgency to change a millennial cultural thought against women which leads to the perpetration of violence in its various forms”.
“We also decided,” Casale continues, “to insert, at a certain point of Mitchell’s song, the touching poem by Alda Merini entitled ‘Smile’ as a symbol of strength and courage, the same courage that helps us keeping our heads up high and every time once again rise. The artist Karima recited the text accompanied in the background by a beautiful vocal solo by Carla Marcotulli. The result is beautiful because of the simplicity with which the poetry is expressed. It doesn’t want to put weight on it, it simply is.”

Chiara Civello, Niki Nicolai, Petra Magoni and Maria Pia De Vito also join in supporting the initiative.

WJU! Italy donates the proceeds of this initiative to Association Di.r.E (Women against violence)
www.direcontrolaviolenza.it

IBAN: IT 65 X 08327 03239 00000000