Barbara Morrison (September 10, 1949 – March 16, 2022) was an American jazz singer.
Biography
Born in Ypsilanti, Michigan, on September 10, 1949, and raised in Romulus, Michigan, Barbara Morrison recorded her first appearance for radio in Detroit at the age of 10. In 1973 when she was 23, she moved to Los Angeles and sang with Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson's band. Between the mid-1970s and early 1990s, she recorded several albums with Johnny Otis.
In 1986, Morrison toured with the Philip Morris Superband, completing a 14-city one-month tour of Canada, Australia, Japan, and the Philippines, playing with jazz organist Jimmy Smith and backed by saxophonist James Moody, guitarist Kenny Burrell, trumpeter Jon Faddis and Grady Tate on drums. Morrison also completed a 33-city tour in the US in an all-star tribute to composer Harold Arlen. In 1995, Morrison appeared in a televised tribute to Ella Fitzgerald with Mel Tormé, Diane Reeves, Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Tony Bennett, Dionne Warwick and Lou Rawls.
Morrison worked with Gerald Wilson, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, Ron Carter, Etta James, Esther Phillips, David T. Walker, Dr. John, Kenny Burrell, Terence Blanchard, Joe Sample, Cedar Walton, Nancy Wilson, Joe Williams, Tony Bennett, Keb' Mo, Count Basie Orchestra, Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra and Doc Severinsen. She performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Nice, Pori, Carnegie Hall, North Sea, Darling Harbour, Sydney Opera House, Monterey, Long Beach, and in tributes to Dizzy Gillespie and Benny Golson. In 2011, Morrison began performing with Jack Hale, a guitarist, arranger and bandleader.
She was an adjunct associate professor of global jazz studies at UCLA.
In early March 2022, Morrison was hospitalized for cardiovascular disease. She died on March 16, 2022, at the age of 72.
Discography
As leader
Love Is a Four-Letter Word (with the Leslie Drayton Orchestra) (Esoteric/Optimism, 1984) Love'n You (with Joe Sample, David T. Walker, Wilton Felder) (P.C.H./Pony Canyon, 1990) Doing All Right (Aris/Mons, 1992 [1995]) Blues for Ella: Live (with the Thilo Berg Big Band) (Mons, 1993 [1995]) I Know How to Do It (Blue Lady, 1996; Chartmaker, 1997) I'm Gettin' 'Long All Right (Chartmaker, 1997) Visit Me (Chartmaker, 1999) Ooh-Shoobie-Doo! (with Johnny Otis & his band) (J & T, 2000) Live Down Under (Blue Lady, 2000) Thinking of You, Joe (Blue Lady, 2002) - note: this is Morrison's special tribute to the great jazz vocalist, Joe Williams. Live at the 9:20 Special (with Danny Caron, Ruth Davies, Charles McNeal, John Haynes, Steve Campos, John R. Burr) (Springboard Productions, 2002) Barbara Morrison (Arietta Discs, 2003) Live at the Dakota (with Junior Mance, Earl May, Jackie Williams, Houston Person) (Dakota Live, 2005) - Note: includes Morrison's signature song, "They Call Me Sundown". Double Standards (Blue Lady, 2006) - 2-CD set Los Angeles, Los Angeles, The City by the Sea (CD single; two songs) (Garrison, 2008) By Request: Volume One (Fertility, 2011) By Request: Volume Two (Fertility, 2011) A Sunday Kind of Love (featuring Houston Person) (Savant, 2013) I Love You, Yes I Do (featuring Houston Person) (Savant, 2014) The L.A. Treasures Project: Live at Alvas Showroom (with the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra) (Capri, 2014) I Wanna Be Loved (featuring Houston Person) (Savant, 2017) Warm & Cozy (featuring Stuart Elster) (Barbara Morrison Productions, 2021)