Product Description:
Personnel: Abbey Lincoln (vocals); Larry Campbell (acoustic guitar); Dave Eggar (cello); Gil Goldstein (accordion); Scott Colley (bass guitar); Shawn Pelton (drum).
Artists still recording in their twilight years can yield hit-or-miss results; diminished skills or lack of vitality or intent can often produce lackluster music. Fortunately, none of these things are the case with Abbey Lincoln's ABBEY SINGS ABBEY. Though she was in her mid-70s at the time of the recording, Lincoln's voice has never sounded earthier, wiser, or more resonant with human emotion.
The repertoire here is drawn from songs the singer has written and recorded previously, but these reinterpretations burn with a fierce intensity all their own. Part of the power comes from the arrangements, which favor accordion, bass, drums, and electric guitar rather than more conventional instrumentation. But it's Lincoln's beautiful songs and even more beautiful performances that make ABBEY SINGS ABBEY a must-hear.
Entertainment Reviews:
Down Beat - p.70
4 stars out of 5 -- "Abbey Lincoln, doyenne of underground singers and griot since 1960, achieves recording near-nirvana, effortlessly showing wisdom and peacemaking on this set."
JazzTimes - p.98
"[Lincoln's voice is] still profoundly soulful and moving. Certainly anyone looking for confirmation of her status as a great jazz poet-philosopher will find it here..."
No Depression - p.103
"Lincoln conducts a master class in phrasing....The accordion and string band enlisted evoke a late-night country blues bar or a boulevard cafe."
