Barbara Morrison, considered one of Los Angeles’ prime jazz vocalists, known as singing good remedy.
In 1983, when her mom, father and grandmother all died, she by no means missed a day of labor, she stated.
“If I hadn’t had singing, I'd have misplaced my thoughts,” she informed The Instances in a 1996 interview. “It’s only a lifesaver. I discovered one thing I like, that I by no means get bored with.”
A jazz and blues legend who left a long-lasting imprint in L.A., Morrison died Wednesday at 72.
A GoFundMe launched for Morrison in early March, after “she was despatched to the hospital with heart problems,” raised greater than $13,000. Individuals who donated described her as “a nationwide treasure” and “a legend.”
Morrison grew up within the Detroit suburbs. Her father was a doo-wop singer, and he or she sang too by her younger years.
After she moved to Los Angeles in 1971 at age 21, regular work with blues nice Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson and performances on “The Johnny Otis Present” grounded Morrison in blues and jazz.
“Eddie used to inform me, ‘Get your personal sound, woman!’ ” she informed The Instances in 2011. “Johnny stated, ‘Why are you singin’ like Barbra Streisand? You'll want to study your personal folks’s music!’ ”
Morrison appeared on dozens of albums — her personal and as a visitor vocalist. Her albums included “I Know Tips on how to Do It” (1996) and “Go to Me” (1999). She was the singer on trumpeter Doc Severinsen’s “Swingin’ the Blues.”
“I believe I’m a sizzling blues diva, however I at all times combine in jazz with the blues,” Morrison stated in a 2000 interview with The Instances.
Morrison carried out on the Montreux, Monterey, Lengthy Seaside and North Sea jazz festivals, in addition to Carnegie Corridor and numerous Southern California jazz venues. She additionally toured Europe with Ray Charles.
For greater than a decade, Morrison carried out at Pip’s on La Brea Avenue, a jazz membership in Mid-Metropolis. On Wednesday, membership proprietor Derrick Pipkin posted a photograph of a smiling Morrison and supplied his condolences, including that she had “captivated the hearts of us all.”
“Her soulful voice was solely surpassed by her stunning spirit and radiance. She was the essence of a Sunday Form of Love,” the submit learn, referring to the basic Etta James track. “She devoted her life to being an inspiration not solely by her music however by her phrases of motivation and encouragement.
“Her smile lit up a room and her presence introduced a way of heat. A mentor, a good friend, a legacy. She can be actually missed.”
Morrison additionally was a staple in Leimert Park Village, the place she opened the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Middle as a launching pad for brand spanking new artists. Later got here the California Jazz & Blues Museum, which she opened to coach the group on the area’s prolific jazz performers and to share historic details about California’s affect on the style.
She additionally handed on that musical schooling as an adjunct affiliate professor of worldwide jazz research at UCLA. In 2020, UCLA launched the Barbara Morrison Scholarship for Jazz.
Nothing appeared to sluggish her down, not even shedding a leg to diabetes in 2011. It wanted to be executed to save lots of her life, Morrison informed The Instances, however “fortunately it doesn’t have an effect on my singing in any respect.”
Final 12 months, after the decision was learn within the case of Derek Chauvin, the white former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd, it was Morrison who unfold the information to these consuming exterior or visiting shops in Leimert Park Village.
“Responsible on all costs,” she shouted, as she rolled down the sidewalk in her electrical wheelchair. She pumped her proper fist within the air.
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