The Legendary Barbara Morrison

(Sept. 10, 1949 to March 16, 2022)

The music world and Los Angeles have lost the legendary jazz and blues singer and force of nature, Barbara Morrison on March 16.

The three-time Grammy-nominated performer and record producer was also an ethnomusicologist — someone who examines music as a social process in order to understand not only what music is but what it means to its practitioners and audiences. 

Morrison was committed to fortifying the LA music community and nurturing new talent. Her dedication was given life in the form of the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center, which she opened in 2009 in Leimert Park. This was followed in 2010 by her founding of the California Jazz and Blues Museum, also located in Leimert Park cultural hub. Morrison was also an associate professor of jazz studies at UCLA, where she taught as an ethnomusicologist. Recently, the university launched the Barbara Morrison Scholarship for Jazz.

Born in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and raised in Romulus, Michigan, Morrison recorded her first appearance for radio in Detroit at the age of 10. In the early 1970s, at 23-years-old, 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, and from the 1980s to 2021, Morrison recorded 22 albums. In her more than 60 year career, Morrison has appeared with musicians of local and international renown, including Tony Bennett, Nancy Wilson, Ray Charles, Etta James, Dizzy Gillespie, James Moody, Terence Blanchard, Nancy Wilson, Mel Tormé and Keb’ Mo. She has performed at the Sea Jazz Festival, the Bern Jazz Festival and the Playboy Jazz Festival. Morrison also toured Europe with Ray Charles.

On the local front, Barbara Morrison was a regular draw at music festivals throughout the region, such as the Long Beach Jazz Festival where she appeared regularly with Al Williams Jazz Society, the Long Beach Blues Festival, The New Blues Festival, the Bayou Festival and Leimert Park Jazz Festival. The icon graced many jazz venues throughout Southern California like The Catalina Jazz Club, Millennium Biltmore Hotel Gallery Bar and Pips on La Brea, where Morrison regularly hosted Tuesdays with Barbara and Friends.

In her career, Morrison has been the recipient of awards including the Living Legend Award from the Living Legend Foundation, Los Angeles County Museum of Art/LA Jazz Society’s LA Treasures Award and Motown’s Hal Award.

On March 26, Morrison’s fans and music community attended a public viewing service at the Congregational Church of Christian Fellowship in LA. Afterward, a celebration of the icon’s life was held at the Barbara Morrison Performing Arts Center.

Barbara Morrison is survived by her brother, Richard Morrison; two sisters, Pamela Morrison-Kersey and Armetta Morrison; and 10 nieces and nephews. She was 71-years-old when she died.

Details: A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to cover Barbara’s funeral and estate expenses, which you can find here,

https://www.gofundme.com/f/RIP-barbara-morrison—funeral-expenses