Abbey Lincoln's Affair

Last updated
Abbey Lincoln's Affair... A Story of a Girl in Love
Abbey Lincolns Affair.jpg
Studio album by
Released1957
RecordedNovember 5–6, 1956
StudioHollywood, California
Genre Jazz
Label Liberty
LRP 3025
Producer Russell Keith
Abbey Lincoln chronology
Abbey Lincoln's Affair... A Story of a Girl in Love
(1957)
That's Him!
(1957)

Abbey Lincoln's Affair... A Story of a Girl in Love is the debut album by jazz vocalist Abbey Lincoln. It was recorded on November 5 and 6, 1956, in Hollywood, California, and was released in 1957 by Liberty Records. On the album, which features jazz standards arranged by Benny Carter, Jack Montrose, and Marty Paich, Lincoln is accompanied by various groups of anonymous musicians. In 1993, the album was reissued by Capitol Records with six additional tracks recorded during July 1956. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

The album cover depicts Lincoln sprawled on the floor, wearing a tight gown. [4] Years later, she reflected: "That was the way they packaged women singers then, and I went along with it because I didn't know any better. I didn't yet think of myself as a serious artist—or as a serious person, either. All I wanted was to be thought of as beautiful and desirable." [5]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
MusicHound Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [8]

In a review for AllMusic, Scott Yanow wrote: "At the time, Lincoln was making the transition from a potential sex symbol and lounge singer to a dramatic jazz interpreter... Lincoln's straightforward delivery was already impressive and pleasing." [1]

A reviewer for Billboard described Lincoln as "a highly provocative singer," and called the album "an outstanding one from all views, selection of repertoire, music and Miss Lincoln's singing." [9]

Track listing

Chapter One
  1. "Love Walked In" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) – 2:32
  2. "I Didn't Know About You" (Duke Ellington, Bob Russell) – 2:45
  3. "Would I Love You" (Harold Spina, Bob Russell) – 2:21
  4. "I Wake Up Smiling" (Edgar Leslie, Fred Ahlert) – 2:06
  5. "This Can't Be Love" (Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart) – 2:22
  6. "Crazy He Calls Me" (Carl Sigman, Bob Russell) – 2:55
Chapter Two
  1. "Two Cigarettes in the Dark" (Lew Pollack, Paul Francis Webster) – 2:37
  2. "The Masquerade is Over" (Allie Wrubel, Herb Magidson) – 2:59
  3. "Take Me in Your Arms" (Fred Markush, Fritz Rotter, Mitchell Parish) – 3:06
  4. "Together" (Ray Henderson, Buddy DeSylva, Lew Brown) – 1:53
  5. "Affair" (Bob Russell) – 2:59
  6. "No More" (Toots Camarata, Bob Russell) – 3:06
Tracks included on 1993 reissue
  1. "Warm Valley" (Duke Ellington, Bob Russell) – 3:16
  2. "You Do Something to Me" (Cole Porter) – 2:31
  3. "Do Nothing till You Hear from Me" (Duke Ellington, Bob Russell) – 2:14
  4. "The Answer is No" (Harold Levey) – 2:15
  5. "Lonesome Cup of Coffee" (Bob Russell) – 2:38
  6. "She Didn't Say Yes" (Jerome Kern, Otto Harbach) – 2:20

Personnel

Related Research Articles

BobRussell was an American songwriter born in Passaic, New Jersey.

<i>Ella in Rome: The Birthday Concert</i> 1988 live album by Ella Fitzgerald

Ella in Rome: The Birthday Concert is a live album by Ella Fitzgerald, with a jazz trio led by Lou Levy, and also featuring the Oscar Peterson trio. Recorded in 1958, it was released thirty years later.

<i>Ella à Nice</i> 1982 live album by Ella Fitzgerald

Ella à Nice is a 1982 album recorded live in 1971 by American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by a jazz trio led by the pianist Tommy Flanagan. This recording remained unreleased until the early 1980s.

<i>Fitzgerald and Pass... Again</i> 1976 studio album by Ella Fitzgerald and Joe Pass

Fitzgerald and Pass...Again is a 1976 studio album by Ella Fitzgerald, accompanied by jazz guitarist Joe Pass, the second of four duet albums they recorded together after Take Love Easy (1973).

<i>The Complete Ella Fitzgerald Song Books</i> 1994 compilation album by Ella Fitzgerald

The Complete Ella Fitzgerald Song Books were a series of eight studio albums released in irregular intervals between 1956 and 1964, recorded by the American jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, supported by a variety of orchestras, big bands, and small jazz combos.

<i>All or Nothing at All</i> (album) 1958 studio album by Billie Holiday

All or Nothing at All is a studio album by Billie Holiday, released in 1958 on Verve Records, catalog MGV8329. There are 12 songs on the LP taken from five different recording sessions that took place in 1956 and 1957. Holiday was backed by a "relaxed and understanding" small combo which included the trumpeter Harry "Sweets" Edison and the saxophonist Ben Webster. A 1959 New York Times article noted that Holiday's voice "had become a very limited instrument which she used with the craft and guile of an aging pitcher who can no longer pour his fast one across the plate."

<i>Portraits of Duke Ellington</i> 1975 studio album by Joe Pass

Portraits of Duke Ellington is an album by jazz guitarist Joe Pass that was released in 1975. It peaked at number 37 on the Jazz Albums chart. It is a tribute to jazz musician Duke Ellington and was recorded shortly after his death.

<i>A Meeting of the Times</i> 1972 studio album by Rahsaan Roland Kirk

A Meeting of the Times is an album by jazz multi-instrumentalist Rahsaan Roland Kirk and vocalist Al Hibbler recorded in March 1972 in New York City, and released in December of that year. It features performances by Kirk and Hibbler with Hank Jones, Ron Carter and Grady Tate with an additional track recorded by Kirk with Leon Thomas, Lonnie Liston Smith, Major Holley and Charles Crosby from the sessions that produced Here Comes the Whistleman (1965).

<i>Piano Interpretations</i> 1951 studio album by Wynton Kelly

For the album of the same title by Bud Powell, see Piano Interpretations by Bud Powell.

<i>The Popular Duke Ellington</i> 1967 album by Duke Ellington

The Popular Duke Ellington is a studio album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington featuring many of the tunes associated with his orchestra rerecorded in 1966 and released on the RCA label in 1967.

<i>I Thought About You</i> (Shirley Horn album) 1987 live album by Shirley Horn

I Thought About You is a 1987 live album by Shirley Horn, her first album for Verve Records.

<i>The Greatest Jazz Concert in the World</i> 1975 compilation album

The Greatest Jazz Concert in the World is a 1967 live album featuring Duke Ellington and his orchestra, Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, T-Bone Walker, Coleman Hawkins, Clark Terry and Zoot Sims. It was released in 1975.

<i>Tribute to the Lady</i> 1959 studio album by Sam Cooke

Tribute to the Lady is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Sam Cooke, released in April 1959. It was recorded in tribute to jazz vocalist Billie Holiday, who died later that year. The backing band is the René Hall Orchestra.

<i>With These Hands...</i> 1956 studio album by Randy Weston

With These Hands... is a jazz album by American jazz pianist Randy Weston, featuring saxophonist Cecil Payne, which was recorded in 1956 and released on the Riverside label.

<i>Love Is...The Tender Trap</i> 1999 studio album by Stacey Kent

Love Is...The Tender Trap is a 1999 studio album by Stacey Kent.

<i>Kessel Plays Standards</i> 1956 studio album by Barney Kessel

Kessel Plays Standards is an album by guitarist Barney Kessel released on the Contemporary label and featuring eight tracks originally released on the Barney Kessel Volume 2 10-inch album which were recorded at sessions in 1954 along with an additional four tracks from 1955.

<i>All Star Road Band Volume 2</i> 1985 live album by Duke Ellington

All Star Road Band Volume 2 is a live album by American pianist, composer and bandleader Duke Ellington recorded at the Holiday Ballroom in Chicago for radio broadcast and first released as a double LP on Bob Thiele's Doctor Jazz label in 1985.

<i>Youve Got a Date with the Blues</i> 1959 studio album by Helen Merrill

You've Got a Date with the Blues is an album by vocalist Helen Merrill, recorded for the MetroJazz label in 1958.

<i>Music for Loving</i> 1954 studio album by Ben Webster

Music for Loving is an album by American jazz saxophonist Ben Webster with tracks recorded in 1954 and released by Norgran in 1955. The album was reissued in 1957 by Verve as Sophisticated Lady. In 1996 Verve released a double CD compiling the album with another Norgran LP, Music with Feeling, and one by Harry Carney, Harry Carney with Strings which was first released by Clef.

<i>Playing the Field</i> (Mark Murphy album) 1960 studio album by Mark Murphy

Playing the Field is a studio album by Mark Murphy.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Yanow, Scott. "Abbey Lincoln's Affair: A Story of a Girl in Love". AllMusic. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  2. "Abbey Lincoln - Affair: A Story of a Girl in Love". Jazz Music Archives. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  3. "Abbey Lincoln Discography". JazzDiscography.com. February 2, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  4. Dahl, Linda (1989). Stormy Weather: The Music and Lives of a Century of Jazzwomen. Limelight Editions. p. 156.
  5. Davis, Francis (2009). Jazz and Its Discontents: A Francis Davis Reader. Hachette Books.
  6. Holtje, Steve; Lee, Nancy Ann (1998). MusicHound: The Essential Album Guide. Schirmer. p. 710.
  7. Swenson, John, ed. (1999). The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide. Random House. p. 426.
  8. Larkin, Colin, ed. (2004). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz. Virgin Books. p. 538.
  9. "Reviews and Ratings of New Albums". Billboard. March 2, 1957. p. 30.