When you think of a female jazz or Blues singer who sang for freedom and equality in the 60's era maybe Nina Simone or Odetta come to mind. When you think of unique female Jazz voices you may think of Billie Holiday or Sarah Vaughan. All of these women are well-known and extremely talented. Another woman equally as talented, but not nearly as well-known is Abbey Lincoln. She is a great Jazz singer who unlike the women mentioned above is still alive and working. She is still singing. Her latest album was released in 2007. 
Abbey is probably most known for her work with Max Roach, a famous Jazz drummer. She and Max were married for about 6 years, but during their time together they made lots of memorable music. Abbey & Max were close friends with Maya Angelou at one time. They all spent time in Africa in the 60's. Abbey also did some acting in the movie For the Love of Ivy . I caught that movie a few months back, and it was a classic. Really a great movie. Abbey's music has been Political Jazz. If you are looking for something a little different in Jazz, I invite you to explore the music of Abbey Lincoln.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Abbey Lincoln
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
7 comments:
it's good to see she's still making music. that's a good article you linked to, and i'll have to check into the film. thanks for sharing!
Aw man, Abbey Lincoln is one of my favorites. Nick introduced her music to me while we were dating a gazillion years ago, and we actually saw her perform live at the Bronx Museum. She was in the basement with a three piece band, singing like it was going to be her last note. She must have sung for a good 90 minutes, non stop; we were so happy to be in the room to experience her that day... and you know what? We paid FIVE dollars. Yes. Five. I would have paid 500... that's how beautiful and talented she is. My absolute all-time favorite is Laugh Clown.
She's incredible.
Thanks for reminding us--I'm going to have to pull out Abbey Sings Abbey (a collection of the songs she's written, reworked) and close my eyes and just drift off into bliss.
I love visiting your blog, it is always educational. I am familiar with Abbey Lincoln, I remember when she sang at Grant Park many years ago during the summer when I was in College. A great FREE concert. Like Denene, I thank you for the reminder.
Wow, she's amazing, and amazingly beautiful. I am super jealous of that puff she was rocking =).
As always... thanks for the enlightenment.
I am so glad so many of you know about Abbey Lincoln already. I amhappy to remind you all, and especially to pay tribute to her here.
I definitely hadnt heard of her but am definitely going to check her out.
Babe, this Abbey Lincoln post is hot!!!
Post a Comment