moementum magazine

THE OUTDOOR JAZZ EVENT OF THE YEAR

By Jay Sampson

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The First Annual Hollywood Park Jazz Festival held Saturday July 24, 2004 was nothing short of a major success. The first of what I'm sure will be many festivals on the picturesque infield of Hollywood Park was sponsored by the City of Inglewood, Hollywood Park Racetrack and Casino, KJLH, IBON, Inglewood Today Magazine, Ticketmaster and Michelob.

The show was hosted by Divorce Court's Judge Mablean Ephriam and Kevin Nash of KJLH Radio and boasted a sizzling line up of jazz favorites Hiroshima, Ronnie Laws, Angela Bofill, Lakeside, Jeanette Harris, Michael Ward, Claudia Anderson and Henry Mora. The day was proclaimed Barbara Morrison Day as she was presented the key the City of Inglewood. After recieving the keys to the city she blessed the zealous crowd with a hip shaking foot stomping performance that also won her the key to their hearts as well.

This summertime musical excursion was accompanied by a plethora of food, beverages and arts and crafts with a wide assortment of items available for purchase. Partial proceeds from this event were donated to the Center for Lupus Care, Soroptimist of Inglewood/Hawthorne, California Black Women's Health Project, Briarwood Women's club, Inglewood educational foundation, United states Veterans Initiative, Inglewood Neighborhood housing and City Lites.

Barbara Morrison

Celebrating her 26th year in the music industry in this millennium year, Barbara Morrison has performed with a virtual “who’s who” of the Jazz and the Blues worlds including legends, Dizzy Gillespie, 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 (Kevin Moore).

The dazzling Barbara Morrison has been featured on over 20 recordings in almost every genre from traditional Jazz and Blues to Gospel and Pop. Her melodic voice, with its two-and-a-half-octave range, are known worldwide, as are her rich, unique, soulful and highly spirited interpretations of both, familiar Jazz and Blues classics, and original contemporary tunes. Most striking is Ms. Morrison’s ability to belt out down-home, soul-stirring Blues. Breathtaking are her impassioned renditions of old and favorite torch songs.

It come as no surprise, then, that listeners have experienced the pleasures of Barbara Morrison’s rich and vibrant tones as the lead vocalist on the movie sound track for The Hurricane, starring Denzel Washington, as well as her vocals on The Duke Ellington Millennium CD, and Johnny Otis’s most recent CD, “Ooo Shoo Be Dooo.” Additional credits include the hit NBC TV comedy The Naked Truth, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Dennis Miller Show.

Born and raised in and around Ypsilanti, Michigan, Barbara Morrison recorded her first appearance for radio in Detroit at the age of 10. Well known in the Los Angeles area for her duo and trio dates, Ms. Morrison also tours extensively, blazing a trail as a Jazz and Blues legend in her own right across the Continental United States, Western Europe the Far East and “Down Under, ‘ wowing audiences with her own band, and opening for Jazz and Blues greats including Ray Charles. Additional, Ms. Morrison guest stars with the Count Basie Orchestra , the Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra and Doc Severinsen’s Big Band.

In additional to her gigs with other Jazz and Blues groups and legends, Barbara Morrison also performs at the more renown Blues and Jazz Festivals around the world. Her many outstanding appearances, including those at Montreaux, Nice, Pori, Carnegie Hall, North Sea, Monterey, Long Beach, as well as her Salute to Dizzy Gillespie and her Tribute to Benny Golson, are fondly remember by Morrison fans who return again and again to share her rare, unique and exceptional vocal gifts.

Blue Lady Records proudly presents Jazz and Blues great, Barbara Morrison, now available for bookings for Fall/Winter 2000 and Spring/Summer 2001.