Abbey Lincoln
Encyclopedia
Anna Marie Wooldridge better known by her stage name
Abbey Lincoln, was a jazz
vocalist, songwriter
, and actress. Lincoln was unusual in that she wrote and performed her own compositions, expanding the expectations of jazz audiences.
. She often could be found at the Blue Note
in New York City
.
With Ivan Dixon
, she co-starred in Nothing But a Man
, an independent film written and directed by Michael Roemer
. She also co-starred with Sidney Poitier
and Beau Bridges
in 1968's For Love of Ivy
, and received a 1969 Golden Globe
nomination for her appearance in the film.
Lincoln also appeared in the 1956 film The Girl Can't Help It
, for which she famously wore a dress worn by Marilyn Monroe
in Gentleman Prefer Blondes and interpreted the theme song, working with Benny Carter
.
Lincoln sang on the 1960s landmark
jazz civil rights
recording, We Insist! – Freedom Now Suite (1960) by jazz musician Max Roach
and was married to him from 1962 to 1970.
Especially since this album, Abbey Lincoln was connected to the political fight against racism in the United States.
In the 1990 Spike Lee
movie Mo' Better Blues
1990, she played young Bleek Gilliams' mother, who was very insistent that Bleek (played as an adult by Denzel Washington
) come inside their house and practice his trumpet
instead of playing outside with his friends.
In 2003, she received the National Endowment for the Arts
NEA Jazz Masters
Award.
Lincoln died on August 14, 2010 in Manhattan
at the age of 80. Her death was announced by her brother, David Wooldridge, who told the New York Times that Lincoln had died in her Manhattan
nursing home
after suffering deteriorating health for years following open heart surgery in 2007. No cause of death was officially given. She was cremated and her ashes were scattered.
Stage name
A stage name, also called a showbiz name or screen name, is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers such as actors, wrestlers, comedians, and musicians.-Motivation to use a stage name:...
Abbey Lincoln, was a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
vocalist, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, and actress. Lincoln was unusual in that she wrote and performed her own compositions, expanding the expectations of jazz audiences.
Biography
Born in Chicago, Illinois, she was one of many singers influenced by Billie HolidayBillie Holiday
Billie Holiday was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing...
. She often could be found at the Blue Note
Blue Note (jazz clubs)
The Blue Note is a jazz club and restaurant located at in Greenwich Village, New York City. Opened in 1981 by owner and founder Danny Bensusan, the club is now considered one of the world's most famous jazz venues...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
With Ivan Dixon
Ivan Dixon
Ivan Dixon was an American actor, director, and producer best known for his series role in the 1960s sitcom Hogan's Heroes, for his role in the 1967 telefilm The Final War of Olly Winter, and for directing hundreds of episodes of television series...
, she co-starred in Nothing But a Man
Nothing But a Man
Nothing But a Man is a film made in 1964 and directed by Michael Roemer. The story is about a black railroad worker, who falls in love with a black school teacher, who is the town’s preacher’s daughter. The story depicts the struggle of their strife for “a meaningful place” in their society. It...
, an independent film written and directed by Michael Roemer
Michael Roemer
Michael Roemer is a film director, producer and writer. He has won several awards for his films. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. A professor at Yale University, he is the author of Telling Stories.- Early years :...
. She also co-starred with Sidney Poitier
Sidney Poitier
Sir Sidney Poitier, KBE is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field...
and Beau Bridges
Beau Bridges
Lloyd Vernet "Beau" Bridges III is an American actor and director.- Early life :Bridges was born in Los Angeles, the son of actor Lloyd Bridges and his college sweetheart, Dorothy Bridges . He was nicknamed "Beau" by his mother and father after Ashley Wilkes's son in Gone with the Wind, the book...
in 1968's For Love of Ivy
For Love of Ivy
For Love of Ivy is a 1968 romantic comedy film directed by Daniel Mann. The film stars Sidney Poitier, Abbey Lincoln, Beau Bridges, Nan Martin, Lauri Peters and Carroll O'Connor. The story was written by Sidney Poitier with screenwriter Robert Alan Arthur. The musical score was composed by Quincy...
, and received a 1969 Golden Globe
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
nomination for her appearance in the film.
Lincoln also appeared in the 1956 film The Girl Can't Help It
The Girl Can't Help It
The Girl Can't Help It is a 1956 comedy musical film starring Jayne Mansfield, Tom Ewell, and Edmond O'Brien. It was produced and directed by Frank Tashlin, with a screenplay adapted by Tashlin and Herbert Baker from an uncredited novel Do Re Me by Garson Kanin...
, for which she famously wore a dress worn by Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
in Gentleman Prefer Blondes and interpreted the theme song, working with Benny Carter
Benny Carter
Bennett Lester Carter was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognized as such by other jazz musicians who called him King...
.
Lincoln sang on the 1960s landmark
Landmark
This is a list of landmarks around the world.Landmarks may be split into two categories - natural phenomena and man-made features, like buildings, bridges, statues, public squares and so forth...
jazz civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
recording, We Insist! – Freedom Now Suite (1960) by jazz musician Max Roach
Max Roach
Maxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach was an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and composer.A pioneer of bebop, Roach went on to work in many other styles of music, and is generally considered alongside the most important drummers in history...
and was married to him from 1962 to 1970.
Especially since this album, Abbey Lincoln was connected to the political fight against racism in the United States.
In the 1990 Spike Lee
Spike Lee
Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee is an American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, has produced over 35 films since 1983....
movie Mo' Better Blues
Mo' Better Blues
Mo' Better Blues is a 1990 drama film starring Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, and Spike Lee, who also directed. It follows a period in the life of a fictional jazz trumpeter Bleek Gilliam as a series of bad decisions result in his jeopardizing both his relationships and his playing career...
1990, she played young Bleek Gilliams' mother, who was very insistent that Bleek (played as an adult by Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...
) come inside their house and practice his trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
instead of playing outside with his friends.
In 2003, she received the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
NEA Jazz Masters
NEA Jazz Masters
The National Endowment for the Arts , every year honors up to seven jazz musicians with Jazz Master Awards. The National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters Fellowships are the highest honors that the United States bestows upon jazz musicians...
Award.
Lincoln died on August 14, 2010 in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
at the age of 80. Her death was announced by her brother, David Wooldridge, who told the New York Times that Lincoln had died in her Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
nursing home
Nursing home
A nursing home, convalescent home, skilled nursing unit , care home, rest home, or old people's home provides a type of care of residents: it is a place of residence for people who require constant nursing care and have significant deficiencies with activities of daily living...
after suffering deteriorating health for years following open heart surgery in 2007. No cause of death was officially given. She was cremated and her ashes were scattered.
Discography
- 1956: Abbey Lincoln's Affair – A Story of a Girl in Love (Liberty) with Benny CarterBenny CarterBennett Lester Carter was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, trumpeter, composer, arranger, and bandleader. He was a major figure in jazz from the 1930s to the 1990s, and was recognized as such by other jazz musicians who called him King...
Orchestra, Marty PaichMarty PaichMartin Louis "Marty" Paich was an American pianist, composer, arranger, producer, music director and conductor....
Orchestra, Jack MontroseJack MontroseJack Montrose was a jazz tenor saxophonist and arranger. After attending university in Los Angeles he worked with Jerry Gray and then Art Pepper. Montrose also did arrangements for Clifford Brown... - 1957: That's Him (Riverside) with Paul ChambersPaul ChambersPaul Laurence Dunbar Chambers, Jr. was a jazz bassist. A fixture of rhythm sections during the 1950s and 1960s, his importance in the development of jazz bass can be measured not only by the length and breadth of his work in this short period but also his impeccable time, intonation, and virtuosic...
, Wynton KellyWynton KellyWynton Kelly was a Jamaican-born jazz pianist, who spent his career in the United States. He is perhaps best known for working with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1959-1962.-Biography:...
, Max Roach, Wynton KellyWynton KellyWynton Kelly was a Jamaican-born jazz pianist, who spent his career in the United States. He is perhaps best known for working with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1959-1962.-Biography:...
, Sonny RollinsSonny RollinsTheodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
, Kenny DorhamKenny DorhamMcKinley Howard Dorham was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and composer born in Fairfield, Texas. Dorham's talent is frequently lauded by critics and other musicians, but he never received the kind of attention from the jazz establishment that many of his peers did... - 1958: It's Magic (Riverside) with Curtis FullerCurtis FullerCurtis DuBois Fuller is an American jazz trombonist, known as a member of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers and contributor to many classic jazz recordings.-Biography:...
, Benny GolsonBenny GolsonBenny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.-Biography:While in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, and...
, Sahib ShihabSahib ShihabSahib Shihab was an American jazz saxophonist and flautist.-Biography:... - 1959: Abbey Is Blue (Riverside) with Kenny Dorham, Wynton Kelly, Les SpannLes SpannLeslie Spann, Jr. was an American jazz guitarist and flautist.Spann was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States....
, Sam Jones, Philly Joe JonesPhilly Joe JonesJoseph Rudolph Jones was a Philadelphia-born United States jazz drummer, known as the drummer for the Miles Davis Quintet.Philly Joe Jones was often confused with another influential jazz drummer, Jo Jones... - 1960: We Insist! – Freedom Now (with Max Roach)
- 1961: Straight AheadStraight Ahead (Abbey Lincoln album)Straight Ahead is an album by American jazz vocalist Abbey Lincoln featuring performances recorded in 1961 for the Candid label.-Reception:...
(Candid RecordsCandid RecordsCandid Records was founded as a subsidiary of Archie Bleyer's Cadence label in New York City in 1960. The jazz writer and civil rights activist, Nat Hentoff, worked as the label's A&R director, aiming to create a representative catalog of the jazz of the day...
) with Coleman HawkinsColeman HawkinsColeman Randolph Hawkins was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Hawkins was one of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument. As Joachim E. Berendt explained, "there were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn"...
, Eric DolphyEric DolphyEric Allan Dolphy was an American jazz alto saxophonist, flutist, and bass clarinetist. On a few occasions he also played the clarinet and baritone saxophone. Dolphy was one of several multi-instrumentalists to gain prominence in the 1960s...
, Booker LittleBooker LittleBooker Little, Jr was an American jazz trumpeter and composer.-Biography:Despite his premature death from kidney failure at the age of 23, Little made an important contribution to jazz. Stylistically, his sound is rooted in the playing of Clifford Brown, featuring crisp articulation, a burnished...
, Mal WaldronMal WaldronMalcolm Earl Waldron was an American jazz and world music pianist and composer, born in New York City.Like his contemporaries, Waldron's roots lie chiefly in the hard bop and post-bop genres of the New York club scene of the 1950s; but with time, he gravitated more towards free jazz and composition...
, Max Roach - 1973: People in Me (Polygram) with Kunimitsu Inaba, James MtumeJames MtumeJames Mtume is a jazz and R&B musician and a radio personality. Mtume's group is perhaps best known for their 1983 R&B hit song "Juicy Fruit". The song was sampled by The Notorious B.I.G. in his song "Juicy"...
, Al FosterAl FosterAl Foster is an American jazz drummer. Foster played with Miles Davis's large funk fusion group in the 70s, was one of the few people to have contact with Miles during his retirement, and was also part of his comeback album The Man With the Horn of 1981...
, Hiromasa Suzuki, Dave LiebmanDave LiebmanDave Liebman is an American saxophonist and flautist. In June 2010, he received a NEA Jazz Masters lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts.-Biography:... - 1980: Golden Lady (a.k.a. Painted Lady - with Archie SheppArchie SheppArchie Shepp is a prominent African-American jazz saxophonist. Shepp is best known for his passionately Afrocentric music of the late 1960s, which focused on highlighting the injustices faced by the African-Americans, as well as for his work with the New York Contemporary Five, Horace Parlan, and...
) (Inner City RecordsInner City RecordsInner City Records, an American jazz record label now based in Elmsford, New York, was founded in 1976 by Irv Kratka, owner of Music Minus One, and Eric Kriss, an independent producer. Affiliated labels included Guitar World and Classic Jazz...
, ITM) - 1983: Talking to the Sun (Enja RecordsEnja RecordsEnja Records is a German jazz record label based in Munich, Germany. It was founded by jazz enthusiasts Matthias Winckelmann and Horst Weber in 1971....
) - 1987: Abbey Sings Billie, Vol. 1 & 2 (Enja)
- 1990: The World Is Falling Down (Verve)
- 1991: You Gotta Pay the Band (Verve) with Stan GetzStan GetzStanley Getz was an American jazz saxophone player. Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of his idol, Lester Young. Coming to prominence in the late 1940s with Woody Herman's big band, Getz is described by critic Scott...
, Hank JonesHank JonesHenry "Hank" Jones was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award...
, Charlie HadenCharlie HadenCharles Edward Haden is an American jazz musician. He is a double bassist, probably best known for his long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman...
, Mark Johnson, Maxine Roach - 1992: Devil's Got Your Tongue (Verve)
- 1992: When There is Love (with Hank JonesHank JonesHenry "Hank" Jones was an American jazz pianist, bandleader, arranger, and composer. Critics and musicians described Jones as eloquent, lyrical, and impeccable. In 1989, The National Endowment for the Arts honored him with the NEA Jazz Masters Award...
) (Verve) - 1993: The Music is the Magic (Live at Sweet Basil's New York) (Itm) with Rodney KendrickRodney KendrickRodney Kendrick is an American jazz pianist, bandleader, composer, and producer. He has been described as a "hard swinging player and composer with a delightful Monkish wit and drive."-Biography:...
, Michael Bowie, Yoron Israel - 1994: A Turtle's Dream (Verve) with Roy HargroveRoy HargroveRoy Anthony Hargrove is an American jazz trumpeter. He won worldwide notice after winning two Grammy Awards for differing types of music, in 1997, and in 2002...
, Kenny BarronKenny BarronKenny Barron , is an American jazz pianist. He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron, and known for his lyrical, adaptive style.-Biography:...
, Pat MethenyPat MethenyPatrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects... - 1996: Who Used to Dance (Verve) with Graham HaynesGraham HaynesGraham Haynes is an American cornetist, trumpeter and composer, the son of jazz drummer Roy Haynes....
, Steve ColemanSteve ColemanSteve Coleman, born , is an African American saxophone player, spontaneous composer, composer and band leader. His music and concepts have been a heavy influence on contemporary jazz.-Chicago:...
, Oliver LakeOliver LakeOliver Lake is an American jazz saxophonist, flutist, composer and poet. He is known mainly on alto saxophone but also performs on soprano saxophone and flute.... - 1998: Wholly Earth (Verve) with Nicholas PaytonNicholas PaytonNicholas Payton is a jazz trumpet player from New Orleans, Louisiana.-Biography:The son of bassist and sousaphonist Walter Payton, he took up the trumpet at the age of four and by the time he was nine he was playing in the Young Tuxedo Brass Band alongside his father...
, Bobby HutchersonBobby HutchersonBobby Hutcherson is a jazz vibraphone and marimba player. His vibraphone playing is suggestive of the style of Milt Jackson in its free-flowing melodicism, but his sense of harmony and group interaction is thoroughly modern... - 2000: Over the Years (Verve)
- 2003: It's Me (Verve)
- 2007: Abbey Sings Abbey (Verve)
External links
- Bio at Verve Records
- Abbey Lincoln Discography at www.JazzDiscography.com
- Abbey Lincoln at NPR Music
- Abbey Lincoln Tribute and image.
- "Remembering Jazz Singer and Activist Abbey Lincoln" at NPR Music: Music News