Barbara Morrison (September 10, 1949 – March 16, 2022) was an American jazz singer.

Biography

Born in

Ypsilanti, Michigan Ypsilanti (), commonly shortened to Ypsi, is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north by Superior Township and on the west, south, and ...

on September 10, 1949, and raised in

Romulus, Michigan Romulus is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 23,989 at the 2010 census. Romulus is a western suburb of Metro Detroit and is also considered part of the Downriver collection of communities. It is most nota ...

, Barbara Morrison recorded her first appearance for radio in Detroit at the age of 10. In 1973 she moved to Los Angeles at the age of 23 and sang with

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr.; December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in which his hair was ...

's band. Between the mid-1970s and early 1990s, she recorded several albums with

Johnny Otis Johnny Otis (born Ioannis Alexandres Veliotes; December 28, 1921 – January 17, 2012) was an American singer, musician, composer, bandleader, record producer, and talent scout. He was a seminal influence on American R&B and rock and roll. He ...

. 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 Kenneth Earl Burrell (born July 31, 1931) is an American jazz guitarist known for his work on numerous top jazz labels: Prestige, Blue Note, Verve, CTI, Muse, and Concord. His collaborations with Jimmy Smith were notable, and produced the 1965 ...

, trumpeter

Jon Faddis Jon Faddis (born July 24, 1953) is an American jazz trumpet player, conductor, composer, and educator, renowned for both his playing and for his expertise in the field of music education. Upon his first appearance on the scene, he became known ...

and

Grady Tate Grady Tate (January 14, 1932 – October 8, 2017) was an American jazz and soul-jazz drummer and baritone vocalist. In addition to his work as sideman, Tate released many albums as leader and lent his voice to songs in the animated '' Schoolhou ...

on drums. Morrison also completed a 33-city tour in the US in an all-star tribute to composer

Harold Arlen Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ...

. In 1995, Morrison appeared in a televised tribute to Ella Fitzgerald with

Mel Tormé Melvin Howard Tormé (September 13, 1925 – June 5, 1999), nicknamed "The Velvet Fog", was an American musician, singer, composer, arranger, drummer, actor, and author. He composed the music for "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts Roasting on an Op ...

, Diane Reeves,

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan (), is an American singer. Her career has spanned more than five decades, beginning in the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the funk band Rufus. Known as the " Qu ...

Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...

Dionne Warwick Marie Dionne Warwick (; born December 12, 1940) is an American singer, actress, and television host. Warwick ranks among the 40 biggest U.S. hit makers between 1955 and 1999, based on her chart history on ''Billboards Hot 100 pop singles cha ...

and

Lou Rawls Louis Allen Rawls (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor. Rawls released more than 60 albums, sold more than 40 million records, and had numerous charting singles, most notably his s ...

. Morrison worked with

Gerald Wilson Gerald Stanley Wilson (September 4, 1918 – September 8, 2014) was an American jazz trumpeter, big band bandleader, composer, arranger, and educator. Born in Mississippi, he was based in Los Angeles from the early 1940s. In addition to being a ...

Dizzy Gillespie John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie (; October 21, 1917 – January 6, 1993) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, composer, educator and singer. He was a trumpet virtuoso and improviser, building on the virtuosic style of Roy Eldridge but addi ...

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded nu ...

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

Esther Phillips Esther Phillips (born Esther Mae Jones; December 23, 1935 – August 7, 1984) was an American singer, best known for her R&B vocals.Santelli, Robert (2001). ''The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia''. Penguin Books. p. 376. . She ...

, David T. Walker,

Dr. John Malcolm John Rebennack Jr. (November 20, 1941 – June 6, 2019), better known by his stage name Dr. John, was an American singer and songwriter. His music encompassed New Orleans blues, jazz, funk, and R&B. Active as a session musician from t ...

Terence Blanchard Terence Oliver Blanchard (born March 13, 1962) is an American trumpeter and composer. He started his career in 1982 as a member of the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, then The Jazz Messengers. He has composed more than forty film scores and performed ...

Joe Sample Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, the band which shortened its name to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained ...

Cedar Walton Cedar Anthony Walton Jr. (January 17, 1934 – August 19, 2013) was an American hard bop jazz pianist. He came to prominence as a member of drummer Art Blakey's band, The Jazz Messengers, before establishing a long career as a bandleader and com ...

, Nancy Wilson, Joe Williams,

Keb' Mo Kevin Roosevelt Moore (born October 3, 1951), known as Keb' Mo', is an American blues musician and five-time Grammy Award winner. He is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter, living in Nashville, Tennessee. He has been described as "a living link ...

Count Basie Orchestra The Count Basie Orchestra is a 16 to 18 piece big band, one of the most prominent jazz performing groups of the swing era, founded by Count Basie in 1935 and recording regularly from 1936. Despite a brief disbandment at the beginning of the 195 ...

, Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra and

Doc Severinsen Carl Hilding "Doc" Severinsen (born July 7, 1927) is an American retired jazz trumpeter who led the NBC Orchestra on ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson''. Early life Severinsen was born in Arlington, Oregon, to Minnie Mae (1897–1998) a ...

. She performed at the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

, Nice, Pori,

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

, Darling Harbour, Sydney Opera House, Monterey, Long Beach, and in tributes to

and

Benny Golson Benny Golson (born January 25, 1929) is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He came to prominence with the big bands of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, more as a writer than a performer, before launch ...

. 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 The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. In early March 2022, Morrison was hospitalized for

cardiovascular disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, h ...

. 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

, David T. Walker,

Wilton Felder Wilton Lewis Felder (August 31, 1940 – September 27, 2015) was an American saxophone and bass player, and is best known as a founding member of the Jazz Crusaders, later known as The Crusaders. Felder played bass on the Jackson 5's hits "I Wan ...

) (P.C.H./Pony Canyon, 1990) * ''Doing All Right'' (Aris/Mons, 1992

995 Year 995 (Roman numerals, CMXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Japan * 17 May - Fujiwara no Michitaka (imperial regent) dies. * 3 June: Fujiwara no ...

* ''Blues for Ella: Live'' (with the Thilo Berg Big Band) (Mons, 1993

* ''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

& 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 Julian Clifford Mance, Jr. (October 10, 1928 – January 17, 2021), known as Junior Mance, was an American jazz pianist and composer. Biography Early life (1928–1947) Mance was born in Evanston, Illinois. When he was five years old, Mance st ...

, Earl May, Jackie Williams,

Houston Person Houston Person (born November 10, 1934) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist and record producer. Although he has performed in the hard bop and swing genres, he is most experienced in and best known for his work in soul jazz. He received the ...

) (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; 2 songs) (Garrison, 2008) * ''By Request: Volume One'' (Fertility, 2011) * ''By Request: Volume Two'' (Fertility, 2011) * ''A Sunday Kind of Love'' (featuring Houston Person) (

Savant Savant syndrome () is a rare condition in which someone with significant mental disabilities demonstrates certain abilities far in excess of average. The skills that savants excel at are generally related to memory. This may include rapid calcu ...

, 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 Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...

, 2014) * ''I Wanna Be Loved'' (featuring Houston Person) (Savant, 2017) * ''Warm & Cozy'' (featuring Stuart Elster) (Barbara Morrison Productions, 2021)

As sidewoman

* ''"Body And Soul" guest artist with''

David Longoria David Longoria is a GRAMMY Award nominated American trumpeter, songwriter, singer, and music producer. Singles Longoria's dance/pop song " Deeper Love", a duet with CeCe Peniston, peaked at No. 14 under ''Billboard'' magazine's "Hot Dance ...

Mood album (Del Oro, 2019) * ''Back To Jazz With Johnny Otis & His Orchestra And Introducing Barbara Morrison'' (Jazz World, 1977) * ''Johnny Otis! Johnny Otis! The 1984 Johnny Otis Show'' (Hawk Sound, 1984) - note: Morrison sings on "Stand By Me", "Do It Again, Baby" and "Soothe Me, Baby". * ''Otisology'' -

Show (

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, 1986) - note: Morrison sings on 'Roll With Me Henry", "Let's Go, Johnny" and "I'm Scared Of You". * ''Prime Time'' - Jimmy Smith (

Milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...

, 1989) - note: Morrison is featured on "Farther On Up The Road". * ''Al Aarons And The L.A. Jazz Caravan'' - Al Aarons (Los Angeles Jazz Society/LAJS, 1995) - note: Morrison sings on "Back Door Blues" and "Make The Man Love Me". * ''Swingin' The Blues'' -

& His Big Band (Azica, 1999) - note: Morrison sings on "Every Day I Have The Blues", "Don't Touch Me" and "The Hucklebuck". * ''

Big Wide Grin ''Big Wide Grin'' is the sixth studio album by Keb' Mo', it was released in 2001 by the Sony Wonder record label. Track listing

# "Everybody Be Yoself" (Chic Streetman) - 4:59 # "Love Train" (Gamble and Huff, Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff) - 4 ...

'' -

Keb' Mo' Kevin Roosevelt Moore (born October 3, 1951), known as Keb' Mo', is an American blues musician and five-time Grammy Award winner. He is a singer, guitarist, and songwriter, living in Nashville, Tennessee. He has been described as "a living link ...

(Sony Wonder/

OKeh Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

, 2001) - note: Morrison sings a duet with Keb' Mo' on "Grandma's Hands". * ''From Me To You: A Tribute To

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, and bandleader. Hampton worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles M ...

'' -

Terry Gibbs Terry Gibbs (born Julius Gubenko; October 13, 1924) is an American jazz vibraphonist and band leader. He has performed or recorded with Tommy Dorsey, Chubby Jackson,Theroux, Gary"Gibbs, Terry".''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. Re ...

(

Mack Avenue Mack Avenue Records is an independent record label in Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan. Background Mack Avenue was founded in 1999 by Gretchen Carhartt Valade, a jazz fan and chair of the American apparel company Carhartt. The company is a sponsor ...

, 2003) - note: Morrison is featured on "Evil Gal Blues". * ''Sweet Jimmie Sings The Blues'' - Sweet Jimmie (Brown Door Records/BDR, 2003) - note: Morrison is featured on "Don't Touch Me". * ''How Sweet It Is'' - Danny Caron (Caron Music, 2008) - note: Morrison sings on "The Promised Land" and "I Need Your Love So Bad". * ''Home Cookin' '' -

Henry Franklin Henry "Skipper" Franklin (born Henry Carl Franklin on October 1, 1940) is an American jazz double bassist. Career Franklin played on Hugh Masekela's 1968 number one single, "Grazing in the Grass," as well as with Masekela's band at the Monte ...

(Skipper Productions, 2009) - note: Morrison is featured on "Philanthropy". * ''Never Been Blue'' - Johnny Boyd (Cliffdive Records, 2010) - note: Morrison sings a duet with Boyd on "Rockin' Good Way". * ''Sweet Spot'' -

Mark Winkler Mark Winkler (born 29 January 1966) is a South African writer of literary fiction living in Cape Town. He is the author of two novels, ''An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Absolutely Everything'' (2013) and ''Wasted'' (2015). His third novel, ' ...

(Cafe Pacific, 2011) - note: Morrison sings a duet with Winkler on the title track. * ''Live In Compton'' - Chris Miller Band (CMME Productions, 2011) -song EP- note: Morrison is featured on "Down Home Blues". * ''Take Your Time'' - Bernie Pearl (Bee Bump Music, 2013) - note: Morrison sings 3 duets with Pearl. * ''The Road To Love'' -

(

HighNote HighNote Records is a jazz record company and label founded by Joe Fields with his son, Barney Fields, in 1997. Joe Fields worked for Prestige Records in the 1960s, and in the 1970s founded Muse Records. After he sold Muse, he started the Highn ...

, 2015) - note: Morrison sings on "The Road To Love", "Crazy He Calls Me" and "Things Ain't What They Used To Be". * ''Unlimited 1: Live At Catalina's'' - Kenny Burrell (HighNote, 2016) - note: Morrison is again featured on "Things Ain't What They Used To Be".

Legacy

The intersection of 43rd Street and Degnan Boulevard in

Leimert Park, Los Angeles Leimert Park (; ) is a neighborhood in the South Los Angeles region of Los Angeles, California. Developed in the 1920s as a mainly residential community, it features Spanish Colonial Revival homes and tree-lined streets. The Life Magazine/Lei ...

, was dedicated as Barbara Morrison Square on the anniversary of her birth, September 10. 2022. She had opened the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center here as a launching pad for new artists.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Barbara 1949 births 2022 deaths 20th-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American women 21st-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American women American jazz singers Jazz musicians from Michigan People from Romulus, Michigan People from Ypsilanti, Michigan