Straight Ahead
Candid, 2022
8/10
The jazz legend Abbey Lincoln was active from the mid ‘50s all the way up to the mid 2000’s, and here her 2nd album lives again thanks to remastering from the original tapes by Bernie Grundman, and with new liner notes from Nat Hentoff.
The title track opens the listen with much soulful brass, as Lincoln’s powerful and expressive pipes enter the substantial jazz climate, and “When Malindy Sings” follows with a similar amount of emotive song craft, where both singing and talking populate the vivid storytelling.
The middle tracks, “In The Red” and “Blue Monk”, are equally memorable, where the former offers brighter brass amid the soaring vocals, and the latter is quite intimate, in Lincoln’s stirring and unique delivery.
Nearing the end, the busier “African Lady” recruits plenty of atmosphere to the cultured album highlight, and “Retribution” exits the listen with punchy drums, blurry horns and Lincoln’s inimitable pipes.
The 7 tracks include Colman Hawkins (saxophone), Eric Dolphy (reeds), Booker Little (trumpet), Mal Waldron (piano) and the iconic drummer Max Roach, and they certainly illuminate Lincoln’s distinct phrasing and unfiltered presence that, even though recorded in 1961, is just as important and relevant today.
Travels well with: Youn Sun Nah- Waking World; Coniece Washington- Shades Of Shirley Horn