Jazz : Barbara Morrison Grows at Lunaria’s

Barbara Morrison, who was Friday’s vocal visitor to Lunaria’s, is no stranger to the Southland, having worked with the Johnny Otis ensemble off and on for some 15 years. Now a protegee of Dionne Warwick, she is showing signs of developing into more than an occasional local presence.

Her opener, “If I Lose This Dream,” revealed a strong sound, jazz-conscious phrasing and timbral assurance. Her ballad artistry (which she displayed in the early years with Otis) was engagingly revealed in a tribute to Dinah Washington, “You Go to My Head.”

Morrison seems equally at home in a broad range of idioms, from pop to R&B; to blues, but this last unquestionably is her forte. On “Down Home Blues” she attacked the lyrics in a manner slightly reminiscent of Ernestine Anderson, and she dug in even deeper during the comedy blues “Getting Along All Right,” with its hilarious lines about the ice man, the meat man and the coal man who did her favors.

Morrison’s closer was a tour de force built on what is truly one of the definitive blues ballads, “At Last,” composed in 1942 but timeless in its melodic and lyrical impact.

Although she might be well advised to find more original material and to use fewer songs associated with other singers, Morrison is personable enough to deserve exposure on records, and with a jazz accompaniment not unlike the trio that backed her Friday: Randy Randolf on piano, Richard Hall on drums and Dave Enos on bass. They not only provided her with just the right impetus, it also set the mood with their cooking instrumental openers, “Blue Bossa” and “Song for My Father.”