Barbara Morrison held forth in grand style at the Jazz Society’s monthly concert. She started off at a full gallop, neither needing nor leaving any room for warming up. The pace varied with the material but the content stayed at the highest possible level. The lady is the history of jazz and it’s all there to see, feel and gratefully appreciate. Besides being one of the top female jazz vocalists on the West Coast, Morrison is a natural five-star entertainer with more energy than seems possible at her size. The consummate jazz artist, she never loses the deep meanings of the music and never allows her intimate love of it to slip into sentimentality.
In two sets backed up by Ian Bernard at the piano, Richard Simon on bass and Paul Kriebich on drums, she held the full house gently in her hand whether caressing a ballad, shouting the blues or burning an up-tempo classic.
Among the many wonderful tunes she paraded before us we’re these special few: “This is always,” “On the street where you live,” “Love wants to dance,” and her version of, “Blow top blues.” Everybody went home happy
Stanley Naftaly – Jazz Straight Ahead, KCSB FM