ABBEY LINCOLN

Candid Recording(s):

Abbey Lincoln also features on:

Max Roach: We Insist / Freedom Now Suite

and Newport Rebels (CCD 79022) - currently out of stock.

Abbey Lincoln hails from Chicago and first came into the public eye in the mid-fifties when she started working the night club circuit; in 1956 she recorded with Benny Carter and sang in the '57 film 'The Girl Can't Help It.' Later that year came the first of her three Riverside albums. 'That's Him' had Max Roach on drums and Max was to have a profound influence on Ms. Lincoln not only musically but also with their joint involvement in black activism. She began to change direction and whilst retaining her Billie Holiday influences, began to give full expression to developing emotional intensity in her vocal interpretations.

In the early sixties Abbey was totally at ease in the company of her peers such as Sonny Rollins, Benny Golson, Wynton Kelly, Curtis Fuller and of course Max Roach. She made telling contributions to Max's 'Freedom Now Suite' and his 'Percussion Bitter Suite' on Impulse.

Abbey and Max were married in 1962, a union that lasted some eight years, with Abbey drifting away from jazz into acting and she did not go into the studios at all in the period 1962-1972.

However, Abbey remained deeply committed to her roots and eventually her career was resuscitated in the ‘90s. She was signed to Verve and several fine albums have ensued-notably 'The World is Falling Down.'

‘Straight Ahead’ remains one of Abbey Lincoln's greatest recordings. It is a remarkable testimony to her heartfelt musical values that this star-studded album remains high on every critics list of landmark albums. Highlights of the set include the seldom heard vocal version of Blue Monk, When Malindy Sings, and Billie Holiday's Left Alone.