Abbey Lincoln
As with her hero Billie Holiday, Abbey Lincoln always meant the lyrics she sang. A dramatic performer whose interpretations were full of truth and insight, Lincoln actually began her career as a fairly lightweight supper-club singer. She went through several name changes (including Anna Marie, Gaby Lee, and Gaby Woolridge) before settling on Abbey Lincoln. She recorded with Benny Carter in 1956 and performed a number in the 1957 Hollywood film The Girl Can't Help It. Lincoln's first of three albums for Riverside (1957-1959) had Max Roach on drums and he was a major influence on her; she began to be choosy about the songs she sang and to give words the proper emotional intensity. Lincoln held her own on her early dates with such sidemen as Kenny Dorham, Sonny Rollins, Wynton Kelly, Curtis Fuller, and Benny Golson. She was quite memorable on Roach's Freedom Now Suite, showing some very uninhibited emotions. Lincoln's Candid date Straight Ahead (1961) had among its players Roach, Booker Little, Eric Dolphy, and Coleman Hawkins, and she made some important appearances on Roach's Impulse! album Percussion Bitter Suite.
Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach were married in 1962, an association that lasted until 1970. They worked together for a while but Lincoln (who found it harder to get work in jazz due to the political nature of some of her music) became involved in acting and did not record as a leader during 1962-1972. She finally recorded for Inner City in 1973 and gradually became more active in jazz. Her two Billie Holiday tribute albums for Enja (1987) showed listeners that the singer was still in her prime, and she recorded several excellent sets for Verve in the 1990s. In the following years, she released a handful of recordings including Over the Years in 2000; It's Me in 2003; and her final recording, Abbey Sings Abbey, in 2007. Abbey Lincoln died in New York City on August 14, 2010; she was 80 years old. Because she put so much thought into each of her recordings, it is not an understatement to say that every set she issued is well worth owning.
© Scott Yanow /TiVo
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We're Listening to Abbey Lincoln, Vol. 3
Jazz - Released by Top Tracks on 30 Oct 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Have You Heard of Abbey Lincoln, Vol. 2
Jazz - Released by Supreme Media on 30 Oct 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Abbey Is Blue + It's Magic (Bonus Track Version)
Jazz - Released by Deeds & Reeds Records on 25 Apr 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lost in the Stars
Vocal Jazz - Released by Mile End on 5 May 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Garvey's Ghost
Vocal Jazz - Released by Diamond Days on 24 Sep 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The A-Z of Abbey Lincoln, Vol. 2
Vocal Jazz - Released by Diamond Days on 23 Jun 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The A-Z of Abbey Lincoln, Vol. 1
Vocal Jazz - Released by Diamond Days on 23 Jun 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
We're Listening To Abbey Lincoln, Vol. 3
Vocal Jazz - Released by Diamond Days on 5 May 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
We're Listening To Abbey Lincoln, Vol. 2
Vocal Jazz - Released by Diamond Days on 5 May 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
We're Listening To Abbey Lincoln, Vol. 1
Vocal Jazz - Released by Diamond Days on 5 May 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Essential Abbey Lincoln Collection, Vol. 2
Vocal Jazz - Released by Diamond Days on 5 May 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
In The Red, Vol. 1
Vocal Jazz - Released by Diamond Days on 5 May 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
In The Red, Vol. 2
Vocal Jazz - Released by Diamond Days on 5 May 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lost in the Stars, Vol. 2
Vocal Jazz - Released by Firefly Entertainment on 5 May 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lost in the Stars, Vol. 1
Vocal Jazz - Released by Firefly Entertainment on 5 May 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Abbey Lincoln: Melancholy
Jazz - Released by Blue Velvet on 2 Nov 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
All Africa
Vocal Jazz - Released by Acoustic avantgarde on 24 Oct 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
When a Woman Loves a Man
Vocal Jazz - Released by Confetti Records on 24 Oct 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Abbey Is Blue
Jazz - Released by Black Sheep Music on 24 Aug 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Straight Ahead (Bonus Track Version)
Jazz - Released by Jazz Musts on 15 Jun 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo