Singer Barbara Morrison to Perform at the Roswell Jazz Festival

Singer Barbara Morrison will perform with an illustrious group of musicians including piano players Bill Cunliffe, Michael Francis and Dr. Roger Dickerson and trumpeter Ray Vega Friday through Sunday at the Roswell Jazz Festival.

Morrison's latest CD, "I Love You, Yes I Do," climbed to No. 4 on the JazzWeek.com national chart on Aug. 14, spent two weeks at No. 6 and eight straight weeks in the top 20 following its release in mid-June. The Los Angeles-based vocalist has two Grammy nominations, in 1982 for vocals on "You're Driving Me Crazy" with Johnny Otis' The Spirit of Black Territory Band and in 1999 for producing a jazz album for Al McKibbon. She has been featured in over 20 recordings and has performed with Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles, Etta James, Nancy Wilson, Mel Torme and Tony Bennett.

It will be Morrison's initial appearance at the Roswell Jazz Festival. Dickerson recommended Morrison to Roswell Jazz Festival Artistic Director Francis after seeing her perform in New Orleans earlier this year and she readily accepted.

"I was honored to be offered the opportunity to sing at a festival which so many outstanding musicians that is growing in stature every year," Morrison said.

Morrison will have four performances, starting Friday with the "Piano Duets" with Dickerson and Francis on separate pianos and accompanied by Dan Borton (clarinet, saxophone), Kerry Lewis (bass) and Ricky Malichi (drums) from 5 to 7 p. m. MT at the Pecos Flavors Winery.

Morrison will continue Friday night with "RJF Presents Barbara Morrison" from 8:30 to 9:15 p.m. MT at Koko's Jazz Club at the Best Western Sally Port Inn and Suites. She'll perform with Cunliffe, a Grammy Award-winning arranger, on piano, Lewis and Malichi.

Saturday, Morrison will sing in the "Swingin with the Standards" show with Vega, Cunliffe, Chuck Redd (drums, vibraphone), John Cocuzzi (piano, drums, vocals), Ken Peplowski (clarinet), Frank Tate (bass) and John Allred (trombone) from 8:30 to 9:20 p.m. MT in the "Saturday Swing at the Sally Port" Best Western Inn.

Sunday, Morrison will be part of the "Worship in Jazz" at the Pueblo Auditorium from 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. MT with Dickerson--whose performance in 2005 at a Roswell church became the inspiration for the Roswell Jazz Festival--Francis, Vega, Redd, Allred, Peplowski, Malichi, Harry Allen (saxophone), Geoff Gallante (trumpet) and Ken Field (saxophone, flute).

Redd is the Roswell Jazz Festival's Guest of Honor. The festival has grown steadily under Francis' direction since 2006 and became the Roswell Jazz Festival in 2009.

For further information on Barbara Morrison, visit www.barbaramoorison.com. For further information on the Roswell Jazz Festival, visit www.roswelljazzfestival.org.

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