Abbey Is Blue is the fourth album by American jazz vocalist Abbey Lincoln, featuring tracks recorded in 1959 for Riverside Records. A breakout performance for the jazz legend – this album displays Lincoln perfectly poised between jazz for show and jazz with a purpose.

The album features an all-star line-up that includes Kenny Dorham, Stanley Turrentine, Wynton Kelly, Sam Jones, Philly Joe Jones and Max Roach.

All-analog mastering from the original tapes by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio.
Pressed on 180-gram black vinyl at RTI

Few singers have the emotional rawness and versatility of Abbey Lincoln (1930–2010). The American Jazz vocalist, songwriter, actress and civil rights activist carved a niche as an emotive storyteller for over 40 years.

Born Anna Marie Woodridge, she went through many name changes (including Anna Marie, Gaby Lee, and Gaby Woolridge) before landing on Abbey Lincoln. A dramatic performer whose interpretations were always full of truth and insight, Lincoln began her career as a fairly lightweight supper-club singer. She credits the recordings of her jazz luminary ancestors, including Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong, with teaching her how to sing with conviction.

Lincoln’s first of three albums for Riverside (1957-1959) had Max Roach on drums and he was a major influence on her; she was selective about the songs she sang and to give words the proper emotional intensity. Roach also played a large role in her civil rights activism in the 1960s. She performed at benefits and fundraisers for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), among other civil rights groups. Lincoln’s music began to reflect injustices blacks experienced in America, and she became a symbol for young black women because she was so politically astute.

Lincoln held her own on her early dates with such sidemen as Kenny Dorham, Sonny Rollins, Wynton Kelly, Curtis Fuller, and Benny Golson. Over the years, she would go on to work with some of the biggest names in jazz, including Eric Dolphy, Coleman Hawkins, Miles Davis and Stan Getz.