Barbara Lea

Barbara Lea earned recognition as a skilled vocalist tied to swing and Dixieland styles, yet she never reached mainstream audiences even though she produced many strong albums over the years. While still a student she performed with dance bands in Detroit, joined the Crimson Stompers—the Harvard college jazz ensemble—and later took jobs along the East Coast throughout the 1950s. Her early sessions appeared on Riverside in 1955 and Prestige from 1956 to 1957, featuring trumpeter Johnny Windhurst along with pianists Billy Taylor and Dick Hyman. During the 1960s Lea turned to stage acting and also worked as a teacher. She collaborated in the 1970s with Dick Sudhalter and Ed Polcer, then cut several Audiophile dates in the 1980s that included a tribute to her longtime idol and influence Lee Wiley. Lea kept performing and recording well into the new century until she succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease in December 2011 at the age of 82.