Barbara Morrison Live at the 9:20 Special
On Thursday, May 30, 2002, Barbara Morrison took to the stage at the 9:20 Special in San Francisco and delivered one of the truly memorable nights of live music for dancers in recent history. Backed by a band of some of the best musicians in the San Francisco Bay Area, Barbara energized, enchanted and amazed a sold out crowd of Lindy Hoppers and Jazz and Blues aficionados. Recorded by one the top live recording engineers in Northern California, the magic of this evening is now finally available for everyone in Barbara's latest CD release: "Barbara Morrison Live at the 9:20 Special".

Barbara Morrison has performed and recorded with a virtual "who's who" of the Jazz and the Blues worlds including legends Dizzy Gillespie, James Moody, Ron Carter, Etta James, Esther Phillips, David T. Walker, Jimmy Smith, Ray Brown, Johnny Otis, Dr. John, Kenny Burrell, Terence Blanchard, Joe Sample, Cedar Walton, Nancy Wilson, Mel Torme, Joe Williams, Tony Bennett, and Keb' Mo (Kevin Moore).

Barbara regularly appears at some of the top venues and festivals around the globe and has been featured on over 20 recordings in almost every genre from traditional Jazz and Blues to Gospel and Pop. Her melodic voice, with its two-and-a-half octave range, is known worldwide as is her rich, unique, soulful, and highly spirited interpretations of both familiar Jazz and Blues classics and original contemporary songs. When she is not touring, Ms. Morrison teaches at UCLA where she is on the faculty of the Ethnomusicology Program.

The Band
The 'All Star Swing Band' features Ruth Davies (bass), Danny Caron (guitar), John Hanes (drums), Charles McNeal (tenor saxophone), John R. Burr (keyboard), and Steve Campos (trumpet). Individually, these musicians have played and recorded with artists ranging from John Lee Hooker and Charles Brown to McCoy Tyner. This group of top Bay Area talent came together on May 30, 2002, to back Barbara Morrison for this one performance and recording.
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The 9:20 Special
The 9:20 Special is a weekly dance event hosted by Paul Overton and Sharon Ashe every Thursday evening in San Francisco. The 9:20 Special has achieved an international reputation for its special brand of music and for the unique environment it creates for dancers of all levels. Paul and Sharon are among the most renowned and well respected teachers of Lindy Hop in the world today. For more information visit: paulandsharon.com.
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Producer's Note
On a cold night in 1994, my grandmother and I walked out of a blizzard and into the Dakota Bar and Grill in St. Paul, Minnesota. My grandfather had died a few weeks before, and together, we had come to watch a singer whom my grandmother had met by chance earlier that evening. When the music began, my grandmother paused, allowed it to fill her completely, and smiled. By the end of the night, she had fallen in love again; this time, it was with Jazz, and her life was changed forever.

Four years later, my brother and I made our own discovery of Jazz. Instead of a night club in Minnesota, we came to it over a three week period spent in a small seaside village in Eastern Sweden learning to dance the grandfather of all swing dances-the Lindy Hop.

That summer opened a whole new world to us. It put us in touch with Swing, Jazz, and Blues, and it ignited a passion in both of us for moving to the music of the 1930's, 40's, and 50's. Over the next two years, we traveled the United States and Europe learning to dance. Eventually, I co-founded a performance troupe and in April of 2001, hosted a dance camp in Sacramento with Jason Christodoulou and Chris Lee. The performer we booked for the camp was a singer from L.A. by the name of Barbara Morrison. Over the course of two nights, Barbara mesmerized a crowd of 250 lindy hoppers and delivered a performance that was nothing short of pure magic.

A year later, Paul Overton, Sharon Ashe, and I invited Barbara back to Northern California to play at the 9:20 Special in San Francisco. On Thursday, May 30, 2002, Barbara once again took to the stage and delivered a truly memorable night of music-captivating and completely enchanting a sold-out crowd. This time we captured it all on tape.

Now, six months later, I am finally able to share the evening with you. I hope you enjoy it.

Elliott Donnelley  springboardllc.com
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Acknowledgements
The show on May 30, 2002, and the CD that resulted from it were labors of love.

First and foremost, I'd like to thank Barbara for her encouragement and support and Paul and Sharon, without whom this never would have happened.

Phil Edwards, Bruce Kaphan, Ken Lee, Paul Overton, Jason Christodoulou and Todd Gascon were the talented team that recorded, mixed, mastered, designed and blessed this project. The following people helped make the evening of May 30th the success that it was: the band (who played their hearts out), Chris Lee, Jesse Miner, the Northern California Lindy Society, David Wong, Chad Kubo and Melanie Moore, Belinda Ricklefs, Joel Tornatore, Catrine Ljunggren, Kyle Smith, Sara Lerner, Ken Watanabe, David Blood, Megan Hornbecker (organizer of the SF Sleep Over and more), Eric Fenn, Claudine Co, Nora McMahon, Heide Cannon, Belinda Fu, Jeanine Walters, James Wang, Rich and Stacy Wons, David Carpenter, Stephen Barlow, Julia Fennell, Katie Jacobsen, Kevin St. Laurent, Carla Heiney, Peter Vawter, Toni Scruggs, Noah Hayes, Marc D'Olimpio, JP Batson, Alex, Debra Baida, Mihai Barulescu, Ken Brown, Teddy Estejo, Abeth Farazz, Jeff Ho, Cathy Kohatsu, Marilyn Lubner, Amie Minor, Ian Star, Genivive, Mike Stephan, Jesper, Elise Ahlstrom, Lisa Seifert, Maria Backstrom, Jessica Hall, Calle Johansson, Robert Johnson, Sheriff Hennessey, Cathrine Sneed, Captain Ron Roth, Marty Collins, Jill Coulton, Odie, Ashby Semple and her friend Jan, Mark Wayne, Fred Olsen, and all of my classmates and friends who were a part of the evening. I'd like to also thank the following individuals who gave me their time and support: James Newton Howard, Steve Weiss, Scott Malchow, Lowell Pickett, Eddie K., Phillip Ziegler, Bud Spangler, Marshall Lamm, Fredric Matteson, Sumner Matteson, The Rhythm Hot Shots, Marie Sorquist, David Dalmo, Rice Odell, Kenneth and Helena Norbelie, John Paterson, Aaron Steinberg, Dan Luther, my cousin Marshall Donnelley and David, Daidie and Owen Donnelley.

Finally, I'd like to thank my two grandmothers: Mrs. Charles L. Hardy (Donnelley), who gave our family a love of dance and music, and Jane Matteson, who introduced me to Jazz and taught me the importance of bringing people together. Both of you have given me so much. This CD is for you.
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Personnel
Barbara Morrison (Vocals), John R. Burr (Piano), Steve Campos (Trumpet), Danny Caron (Guitar), Ruth Davies (Bass), John Haynes (Drums), Charles McNeal (Tenor Saxophone)

Produced by Elliott Donnelley
Mixed by Bruce Kaphan
Mastered by Ken Lee, Ken Lee Mastering
CD Packaging Designed by Paul Overton
Cover Photo by Howard Gitelson
Recorded by Phil Edwards Recording. Phil Edwards (first Engineer), Jason Christodoulou (Second Engineer)
Recorded Live at the 9:20 Special, San Francisco, CA, May 30, 2002

Contact Barbara Morrison at: BMorrBlues@aol.com
Contact Elliott Donnelley at: elliottd@spirngboardllc.com

P & © 2002 Springboard Productions LLC. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction, hiring, lending, public performance and broadcast prohibited. Printed in the USA. Manufactured by Springboard Productions, LLC (www.springboardllc.com).
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