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Barbara Morrison has long been a familiar figure in the Los Angeles
area, singing blues, standards, and R&B-ish/jazz material with
spirit and feeling. Live at the Dakota teams her at a Minnesota concert
with a perfect backup group from the East Coast consisting of tenor
saxophonist Houston Person, pianist Junior Mance, bassist Earl May, and
drummer Jackie Williams. Most of the selections, such as "Please Send Me
Someone to Love," "At Last," and "I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water," are
quite familiar, as are the swing standards, but these renditions sound
fresh and contain their own surprises. Every song is full of soul,
including a slower than usual "Mean to Me," "Don't Go to Strangers," the
passionate blues "They Call Me Sundown," and the hardest swinging
version of "I'll Be Seeing You" that one will ever hear. Also
interesting are the singer's close imitations of both Big Joe Turner and
Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson on the blues "Chains of Love." Both Barbara
Morrison and the all-star cast clearly inspire each other during the
singer's definitive recording. Highly recommended. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1 Things Ain't What They Used to Be 3:42
Ted Persons
2 Please Send Me Someone to Love 5:45
Percy Mayfield
3 Take the "A" Train 4:05
Billy Strayhorn
4 At Last 6:37
Mack Gordon / Harry Warren
5 I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water 4:00
Barbara Morrison
6 Don't Go to Strangers 6:27
Redd Evans / Arthur Kent / Dave Mann
7 Chains of Love 8:32
Ahmet Ertegun / Harry Van Walls
8 All of Me 3:34
Gerald Marks / Seymour Simons
9 Mean to Me 6:42
Roy Turk
10 I Let a Song Go Out of My Heart 2:30
Duke Ellington / Irving Mills / Henry Nemo
11 They Call Me Sundown 7:02
D. Amy / Cornelius Green
12 I'll Be Seeing You 4:20
Sammy Fain / Irving Kahal
Credits :
Barbara Morrison - Vocals
Jackie Williams - Drums
Earl May - Bass
Junior Mance - Piano
Houston Person - Tenor Sax.jpg)
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