Abbey LINCOLN - Wholly Earth 1998

Abbey LINCOLN - Wholly Earth 1998

Jazz

Abbey Lincoln's follow-up to the well-received Verve release Who Used to Dance finds the singer stretching her sweet and sour vocals and exquisitely languorous phrasing over a set of (mostly) original material. Joined by the likes of Bobby Hutcherson on vibes and marimba and Nicholas Payton on trumpet and flügelhorn, Wholly Earth is wholly Abbey Lincoln--romance buffered by heartbreak tragedy; idealism diffused by real-life pitfalls; striking beauty windblown by brief shadows and sad downpours. On the title cut she is swept away by joy while "Caged Bird" is a melancholy shuffle and "And It's Supposed to Be Love" is a romantic tearjerker. That Ms. Lincoln can express so many moods some just by the mere sound of her voice is testament to her tremendous talents. That a record like Wholly Earth is large enough to contain all she has to offer is testament to its remarkable success.
By S. Duda.
**
Even a cursory listen to WHOLLY EARTH makes it seem fair to call Lincoln the inheritor of Nina Simone's lofty mantle. Like Simone, Lincoln employs an expressive, rough-edged tenor and an expansive compositional mindset in the service of something too multi-faceted to be pigeonholed as "jazz." Lincoln composed most of the tunes here and their variety runs apace with their high quality.
Listen to her trade lines with guest vocalist Maggie Brown on the Mexican- inflected "And It's Supposed to be Love." Take in the whirling dervish that is the joyous title track, drawing on jazz, African and Latin rhythms (a combination put to effective use throughout the album) as Lincoln wails jubilantly over Alvester Garnett's churning percussion. The depth and breadth of Lincoln's abilities as both writer and vocalist are obvious. Some of the finest moments are made possible by the interplay between Lincoln and vibes/marimba wizard Bobby Hutcherson, whose contributions practically rate co-billing.
**
Undoubtedly, Abbey Lincoln is one of the most intelligent, sophisticated singers out there. Everyone, it seems, has noted her way with lyrics a commitment to the defiance, wry humor, or lovelessness of the songs' emotional world that surely co-exists with her acting skills. Very few people read a lyric as well as Abbey.
On a purely musical level, Abbey's voice is an eccentric and unusual instrument. When matched with the right material, the results are sublime. However, unspectacular accompaniment, arrangements, or lyrics draw the listener's attention to Abbey's vocal shortcomings. Although Abbey does not commit some of the egregious lapses in intonation that mar volume two of her Billie Holiday tribute, "Wholly Earth" does not have the consistent excellence of some of her other albums. Two of those better albums are: "Abbey is Blue" (a 50s collaboration with Max Roach) and "When there is Love" (good songs sung well with sympathetic pianist Hank Jones as only accompaniment).

"Wholly Earth" is somewhere between one-half and two-thirds of a great album. Her original songs fare worst: "Conversation With a Baby" features her musings about the celestial origins of babies, but remains entirely earthbound because its descending melody, harmonic structure, and solos are uninventive. Yet, "And It's Supposed to Be Love" and the title track show that Abbey and the band can compensate for some unoriginality in lyric, melody, or harmony with a groove that highlights the musicians' unity of purpose. "Another Time, Another Place" and "If I Only Had a Brain" also deserve special mention as well-performed standards.

I think that reviewers and listeners should stop forgiving Abbey's faults in intonation, songwriting, and melodic choices (e.g. a screechy ending that mars a well-performed title track) and push her to exhibit what the best of these tracks show. Five stars? A bit much. Save that for consistent and truly outstanding albums. Perhaps it's time that Verve released Abbey from (or encouraged her to exceed) the pattern of ballads and originals performed with a piano-led trio that most of her Verves follow.
By  Miles P. Grier.
**
Abbey Lincoln- Vocals
Bobby Hutcherson- Vibraphone, Marimba
Marc Cary- Piano
James Hurt- Piano
John Ormond- Bass
Michael Bowie- Bass
Alvester Garnett- Drums
Nicholas Payton- Trumpet, Flugelhorn
Daniel Moreno- Percussion
Maggie Brown- Vocals
**
01. And It's Supposed To Be Love 5:13
02. Midnight Sun 7:23
03. Wholly Earth 6:01
04. Look To The Star 6:42
05. Another World 9:13
06. Conversation With A Baby 6:37
07. If I Only Had A Brain 5:32
08. Another Time, Another Place 7:16
09. Caged Bird 7:02
10. Learning How To Listen 6:29
**

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Abbey LINCOLN - Music Is The Magic 1994

Abbey LINCOLN - Music Is The Magic 1994
Recorded live at Sweet Basil NYC 1993

Jazz

I think about the life i live
A figure made of clay
And think about the changes the i lost
The things i gave away..
**
Abbey Lincoln- Vocals
Rodney Kendrick- Piano
Michael Bowie- Bass
Yoron Israel- Drums
**
01 The Music Is The Magic (Abbey Lincoln) 7:34
02 Bird Alone (Abbey Lincoln) 6:28
03 Throw It Away (Abbey Lincoln) 7:23
04 How High The Moon (Nancy Hamilton/W Morgan Lewis) 7:16
05 Brother Can You Spare A Dime (EY Harburg/Jay Gorney) 5:27
06 Introducing The Band 0:38
07 Spring Will Be A Little Late This Year (Frank Loesser) 5:04
08 Wholly Earth (Abbey Lincoln) 10:49
**
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Abbey LINCOLN - That's Him 1957

Abbey LINCOLN - That's Him 1957

Jazz

Abby Lincoln's voice is as unique as it is expressive. Over the years she has made recordings with some of the best musicians in the business. This record is outstanding. I had the privilege of hearing Abby Lincoln live in New Haven at the Festival of Arts and Ideas several years back, and her creative ideas and ability to interpret a melody haven't diminished over the years.
This record features Sonny Rollins, Kenny Dorham, Wynton Kelly, and Paul Chambers. This is an outstanding line-up.
The first tune is one one of my favorites. It is entitled "Strong Man." It is refreshing in this day an age to hear someone sing "I am in love with a strong man." Today most men are portrayed in music as stupid, weak, or womanizing and sexist. This is a refreshing reminder of what real men are called to be.
The whole record is beautiful and beautifully recorded. "Porgy" is a real gem as well.
Sonny Rollins is brilliant on this record. His solos are sparse and he is a supporting role, but he fulfills it very competently.
Great record.
**
This CD reissue brings back singer Abbey Lincoln's second recording and first for Riverside, adding alternate takes of "I Must Have That Man!" and "Porgy" to the original LP program. Lincoln is accompanied by quite an all-star roster (tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins, trumpeter Kenny Dorham, pianist Wynton Kelly, bassist Paul Chambers, and drummer Max Roach) and, even this early, she was already a major jazz singer with a style of her own. Lincoln was careful from this point on to only interpret lyrics that she believed in. Her repertoire has a few superior standards (including several songs such as "I Must Have That Man!" and "Don't Explain" that are closely associated with Billie Holiday) plus Oscar Brown, Jr.'s "Strong Man" and Phil Moore's "Tender as a Rose"; she takes the latter unaccompanied. "Don't Explain" is slightly unusual in that Paul Chambers is absent and Wynton Kelly makes an extremely rare appearance on bass. All three of Abbey Lincoln's Riverside albums (each of which have been reissued through the OJC imprint) are well worth several listens.
By Scott Yanow, All Music Guide.
**
Abbey Lincoln- Vocals,
Sonny Rollins- Tenor Sax,
Kenny Dorham- Trumpet,
Wynton Kelly- Piano,
Paul Chambers- Bass.
Max Roach- Drums
**
01. Strong Man 5:01
02. Happiness Is A Thing Called Joe 5:53
03. My Man 3:54
04. Tender As A Rose 2:57
05. That's Him 3:23
06. I Must Have That Man 3:57
07. I Must Have That Man (take 3, bonus track) 3:54
08. Porgy 4:24
09. Porgy (take 1, bonus track) 4:28
10. When A Woman Loves A Man 4:25
11. Don't Explain 6:39
**
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Abbey LINCOLN - Abbey sings Abbey 2007

Abbey LINCOLN - Abbey sings Abbey 2007

Jazz

In her oblique, singular trajectory across the multiple currents and trends that have fashioned the incredibly rich and complex landscape of contemporary Afro-American music these past fifty years, Abbey Lincoln has gradually established herself in everyone's eye as the great female voice of the post-free era.

On this new album she performs exclusively personal songs, carefully chosen from the nine recordings she made for Verve over the last fifteen years. With a consummate sense of theatre, alternating slow, crepuscular ballads - almost static in their imperceptible unfolding - and songs of timeless sophistication with melodies that are more archaistic, at the frontiers of country-music and folk, she, using little, almost secret Impressionist touches, recapitulates the skillfully "natural" art of phrasing with all its intimate deployments, breaks and suspensions, revealing the magic spells of a rift that can't be confessed while plucking constantly at the strings of emotion with discretion and restraint and distilling, in its slightest inflexions, melancholy that is literally overwhelming.
**
For those who expect their jazz singers to possess a unique timbre, the departure of Shirley Horn passes the "greatest-living-vocalist" crown to the reclusive Abbey Lincoln.
Her voice, while unmistakeably personal, carries the same bluesy texture and total emotional commitment of a royal line going back to Billie Holiday and beyond.
She's also a fine composer whose bittersweet songs have a strong identity.
Warmly backed by a group featuring cellist Dave Eggar, accordionist Gil Goldstein and Larry Campbell on mandolin and various guitars, she sounds contentedly sad.
The first track, Thelonious Monk's "Blue Monk" (lyrics by Lincoln) is the only historically jazz track on this album but it falls in nicely with the folksy country blues exploration of emotion of the rest of the album.
"Should've Been" is real class while "And It's Supposed To Be Love" is a happy-go-Norah Jones time turn.
There's definitely some voodoo mambo going on with "The Music Is The Magic".
The final track, "Being Me" shows an affirmation of an ending which is a bit of a cliché but that's easy enough to overlook bearing in mind the quality of the rest of the CD.
Larry Campbell's guitar work and Gil Goldstein's accordion really set the scene for this uplifting set for the quiet times in your life, but Abbey is the real star here.
**
Abbey Lincoln- Vocals
Larry Campbell- Acoustic guitar, Electric guitar, National guitar, Pedal steel, Mandolin
Scott Colley- Bass
Gil Goldstein- Accordion
Dave Eggar- Cello
Shawn Pelton- Drums
**
01. Blue Monk 5:11
02. Throw It Away 5:17
03. And It's Supposed To Be Love 4:45
04. Should've Been 5:26
05. The World Is Falling Down 3:38
06. Bird Alone 4:53
07. Down Here Below 6:30
08. The Music Is The Magic 3:51
09. Learning How To Listen 4:35
10. The Merry Dancer 6:27
11. Love Has Gone Away 4:38
12. Being Me 3:55
**
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Abbey LINCOLN - You Gotta Pay The Band 1991

Abbey LINCOLN - You Gotta Pay The Band 1991
Label: Verve / Polygram

Jazz

Stan Getz is featured on one of his final recordings on this excellent Abbey Lincoln CD; Getz's cool tenor fits in very well with Lincoln's voice, making one wish that they had met up previously. With pianist Hank Jones, bassist Charlie Haden, drummer Mark Johnson, and (on two songs) Maxine Roach's viola completing the group, it is not surprising that Lincoln sounds typically inspired. Actually, her version of "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" is a bit of a misfire with its dated lyrics (which should have been modified and altered to fit a female). However, "Bird Alone," Freddie Hubbard's "Up Jumped Spring" (given lyrics by Lincoln), and five of her originals more than compensate.
Recommended.
By Scott Yanow, All Music Guide.
**
This is Abbey Lincoln's record, sure enough. She wrote most of the songs, and she sings brilliantly on many of them. Her voice is dark, rich, and somewhat melancholic, and yes, her singing has certain edges, but that fits the contents of her songs. So, accompanied by Hank Jones, who also excels on this date, Charlie Haden and Marc Johnson, this would be a good Abbey Lincoln album. However, that's not why I bought the record. It is simply that this is one of the best records Stan Getz ever made. It was his last studio date, and his playing is heartrendingly beautiful (and for once, that's not a commonplace). In contrast to the live date "People Time", he was still in full command of his instrument, and whenever he starts playing, he elevates each song to a level of exellence that Ms. Lincoln occasionally fails to reach. The sad, but beautiful "Bird Alone", the lively "I'm in Love" and the Samba-like "And How I Hoped For Your Love" are all favourites of mine. They come in as winners due to the beauty of Stan Getz's phrasing and his well-known, incomparably smooth sound. He never consciously tried to outshine Ms. Lincoln, though. He did not force himself into the foreground, but was simply the best musician on the date. For his presence alone, I would rate this record with six stars! Get it!
By  Rolf Aderhold.
**
This 1991 release followed Abbey Lincoln's THE WORLD IS FALLING DOWN and is a marvelous set of music that marked the beginning of a deserved upswing in Lincoln's popularity. This set features Stan Getz, who provides a wonderful foil for Lincoln's ...    Full Descriptionvoice. Sadly, Getz died a few months after these sessions, the only collaboration between the two. Lincoln's own songs represent the majority of material on the album; standouts include "Bird Alone" and "When I'm Called Home." A deep sense of spirituality empowers much of this work, one the arises from the way in which Lincoln melds the emotional bearing of blues with the more cerebral forays of jazz. She's backed by a superlative trio of Hank Jones on piano, Charlie Haden on bass, and Mark Johnson on drums. This is an essential title for anyone interested in either Abbey Lincoln or Stan Getz.
From CD Universe.
**
Abbey Lincoln- (Vocals);
Stan Getz- (Tenor Sax);
Maxine Roach- (Viola);
Hank Jones- (Piano);
Charlie Haden- (Bass);
Mark Johnson- (Drums).
**
01. Bird Alone 8:34 Album Only
02. I'm In Love 6:13 
03. You Gotta Pay The Band 4:50
04. Brother? Can You Spare A Dime? 6:51  
05. You Made Me Funny 3:02
06. And How I Hoped For Your Love 3:39  
07. When I'm Called Home 5:28
08. Summer Wishes Winter Dreams 6:29 
09. Up Jumped Spring 4:41  
10. A Time For Love 8:39
**
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Abbey LINCOLN - A Turtle's Dream 1995

Abbey LINCOLN - A Turtle's Dream 1995

Label: Verve / Polygram
Recorded at Clinton Recording Studio, New York on May 28, August 29, and November 7 & 8, 1994.

Jazz

**A TURTLE'S DREAM was nominated for a 1996 Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Performance.**
This release continued Abbey Lincoln's '90s resurgence. As with her preceding Verve releases, A TURTLE'S DREAM features notable guest musicians (including ...    Full DescriptionPat Metheny, Kenny Baron, and Lucky Peterson), all of whom add grace to the proceedings. Her core backing trio comprises Rodney Kendrick on piano, Charlie Haden on bass, and Victor Lewis on drums. The set features primarily her originals, along with a pair of covers, including Eben Ahbez's "Nature Boy." The opening song, "Throw It Away," has a melancholy resonance that is utterly inviting as Lincoln pours herself into the lyrics with deep passion and subtle dramatics. The addition of a string section on a couple of numbers--especially "Down Here Below"--makes for some elegant blues.
**
Since her 1960 recording for Candid, Abbey Lincoln has brought an unequaled passion to the jazz vocal art, an ability to invest words with special shades of meaning that recalls the spirit of Billie Holiday. Her talent has long been appreciated more by musicians than by a large general audience (perhaps because her work is so focused on maximizing the emotional potential of a lyric rather than on treating the voice as an instrument, as many jazz singers do). That respect is reciprocal: her work has always featured the finest musicians, from Eric Dolphy to Stan Getz. Lincoln composed most of the music and lyrics on this 1994 set, and each song is a journey into the self, into the wellsprings of life, from loss to joy. Her accompanists rise to the emotional occasion: fine moments are contributed by Kenny Barron, Charlie Haden, Pat Metheny, Roy Hargrove, saxophonist Julien Lourau, and Lincoln's frequent accompanist, pianist Rodney Kendrick.
By Stuart Broomer. AMG.
**
Abbey Lincoln- (Vocals);
Randolph Noel- (String Arrangements);
Julien Lourau- (Soprano & Tenor Sax);
Roy Hargrove- (Trumpet);
Pierre Blanchard, Vincent Pagliarin, Sandra Billingslea- (Violin);
Frederic Fymard- (Viola);
Anne-Gaelle Bisquay, Marc Gilet, John Robinson- (Cello);
Rodney Kendrick, Kenny Barron- (Piano);
Pat Metheny- (Acoustic & Electric Guitars);
Lucky Peterson- (Guitar, Background Vocals);
Christian McBride, Charlie Haden, Michael Bowie- (Bass);
Victor Lewis- (Drums).
**
01. Throw It Away 5:44 
02. A Turtle's Dream 6:29 
03. Down Here Below 8:49
04. Nature Boy 5:05 
05. Avec Le Temps 5:40 
06. Should've Been 7:58
07. My Love Is You 5:43
08. Storywise 4:21
09. Hey Lorda Mama 7:13
10. Not To Worry 5:47  
11. Being Me 6:17
**
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Abbey LINCOLN - Painted Lady 1987

Abbey LINCOLN - Painted Lady 1987
(With Archie Shepp)
Label: Itm
Audio Cd: 1995
Recorded at Star's Music Studio, Paris on May 30, 1987

Jazz

A wonderfully moody album from Abbey Lincoln -one that's a bit more laidback than some of her other efforts, but no less soulful! There's kind of a broken, jagged sound to the record, a late nite vibe that's blue and melancholy, and which gets some great support from the tenor sax of Archie Shepp -which often gets a chance to solo on most tracks! The rhythms are gentle, often a bit spare, and handled by Hilton Ruiz on piano, Jack Gregg on bass, and Freddie Waits on drums -and the set also features work from trumpeter Roy Burroughs.

Tracks include three original compositions, "Painted Lady", "Throw It Away", and "Caged Bird", plus a sublime version of Stevie Wonder's "Golden Lady". Also includes Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady", and Michel Legrand's "What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life"
**
Frederick Waits- Drums
Abbey Lincoln- Vocals,
Roy Burrowes- Trumpet
Jack Gregg- Bass
Hilton Ruiz- Piano
Archie Shepp- Sax (Soprano, Tenor)
**
01.  Sophisticated Lady   7:45
02.  Golden Lady   9:30
03.  Painted Lady on the Stage   5:15
04.  Throw It Away   6:35
05.  What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?   9:30
06.  Caged Bird   6:15
**
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