The quintessential jazz stylist Barbara Morrison, this evening’s headliner in the Summer Music Festival series in the Courtyard of City Hall, shines as few performers do in the out of doors.
Ms. Morrison, who goes on stage at 7 o’clock, is idolized throughout the jazz community.
She was at her zenith one glowing early evening a year ago, just about to the day.
She was the star entertainer at a dressy campaign appearance for Mark Ridley-Thomas, who was seeking to successfully move from the state Senate to the County Board of Supervisors.
The backdrop to Ms. Morrison’s performance in the undulating landscape of the Baldwin Hills was almost ethereal.
Standing near the crown of a gigantic overlooked that seemed to afford a view of the entirety of West Los Angeles below, the stately Ms. Morrison resembled a throwback to days of nostalgia from beneath a wide, willowy summer hat.
Her sensuous voice and commanding style arrested the attention of both aficionados and newcomers to the genre.
Says Summer Music Festival Producer Gary Mandell:
“Barbara Morrison and her band are well known in the Los Angeles area for her duo and trio dates.
“She also tours extensively after spending her life blazing a trail as a jazz and blues legend across not only the continental United States, Western Europe, the Far East and Down Under.”
Mr. Mandell said she will be joined on stage by cast members from the musical she has starred in celebrating the life of blues legend Big Mama Thornton.
This is her 30th year in the music industry.
Ms. Morrison has performed with the premier performers of the jazz and the blues worlds, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, James Moody, Ron Carter, Etta James, Esther Phillips, David T. Walker, Jimmy Smith, Johnny Otis, Dr. John, Kenny Burrell, Terence Blanchard, Joe Sample, Cedar Walton, Nancy Wilson, Mel Torme, Joe Williams, Tony Bennett and Keb’ Mo.
Ms. Morrison guest stars with the Count Basie Orchestra, the Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra and Doc Severinsen’s Big Band.
