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You may know from the last issue of Straight No Chaser that Ms. Friedman is hoping to release a documentary on her hero this July. Friedman is of the view that this new album is her best work yet. Well that’s not bad for a writer, singer, actor, painter, civil rights campaigner and former wife of Max Roach (she was the singer on ‘Lonesome Lover’ - see Gilles Peterson’s Pure Fire! compilation)

Much of the film is shot in France and the album has more than a fair share of French Café elements, even thought it was actually recorded in NYC towards the end of last year.

That 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.

What did he say? Country! Folk! This woman has spent 50 years in jazz so this musical mood of a relaxed Flying Burritos meets Gotan Project in very much a surprise. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lovely surprise. ‘Should’ve Been’ is real class while ‘And It’s Supposed To Be Love’ is a happy-go-Norah Jones time turn.

‘Learning How To Listen’ and ‘Bird Alone’ could have been Gram Parsons songs in a parallel pedal steel universe if he was still alive and talking of secret worlds, there’s definitely some voodoo mambo going on with ‘The Music Is The Magic’.

The final track, ‘Being Me’ has a Lee Hazlewood-style affirmation of an ending which we 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 Lincoln is the real star here. You can’t help feel that this remarkable “Pretty Chicago-born singer” (see the cover of Jet, April 15, 1965) is going to be heralded once again with the release of this CD and the film.

Hectic Mix nominations: ‘The Music Is The Magic’, ‘Blue Monk’, ‘Should’ve Been’, ‘The Merry Dancer’

Abbey Lincoln - vocals
Larry Campbell - guitars, pedal steel, mandolin
Scott Colley - bass
Shawn Pelton - drums
Gil Goldstien - accordian
Dave Eggar - cello

Reviewed: Abbey Lincoln - Abbey Sings Abbey (Verve) Cat. No. 0602498470305 Release date: 21 May 2007
Tracklisting
1. Blue Monk
2. Throw It Away
3. And It’s Supposed To Be Love
4. Should’ve Been
5. The World Is Falling Down
6. Bird Alone
7. Down Here Below
8. The Music Is The Magic
9. Learning How To Listen
10. The Merry Dancer
11. Love Has Gone Away
12. Being Me

Links:
Abbey Lincoln www.verve.com
BBC Radio 3 100 Jazz Profiles: Abbey Lincoln (1930 - present)
www.carofriedman.com
Kendra Shank - A Spirit Free: Abbey Lincoln Songbook (Challenge Records) [2006]
www.straightnochaser.co.uk Vol 2. Spring 2007
Max Roach - It’s Time Cat. No. IMPD185 CD reissue release date 26/031996
“Lonesome Lover” was a cut from an album whose title confronted you if you were inactive, urged you on it you were in motion. The album was simply called It’s Time”.