2004 · Album
Over the Years
Recorded February 18–21 and April 23, 2000 · Verve Records / Gitanes Jazz Productions · Produced by Information not verified — omitted
Still Standing, Still Singing Her Truth
Lincoln at sixty-nine, unhurried and uncompromising, with a band that actually listens.
By 2000, Abbey Lincoln had long since stopped trying to please anyone who wasn't ready for her. Over the Years (2000) is a late-career album that doesn't feel like a victory lap — it feels like a Tuesday afternoon conversation with someone who has a lot to say and knows exactly how to say it. Lincoln was sixty-nine when this was recorded, and her voice had deepened and settled into something more interior than her earlier recordings. She's not belting. She's confiding. That's the right word for it.
The sessions at Right Track Studios in New York City across four days in February 2000 gave the album its core sound, and the personnel are worth paying attention to. Joe Lovano on saxophone is a genuinely excellent pairing here — he's one of the few players who can match Lincoln's pacing without crowding her. Jerry González on trumpet adds a warmth that keeps things from getting too austere. Jennifer Vincent on cello is an unusual choice for a jazz vocal date, and it works better than you might expect — the instrument sits under Lincoln's voice in a way that strings usually don't. Brandon McCune on piano, John Ormond on double bass, and Jaz Sawyer on drums keep the rhythm section steady without being showy. Kendra Shank on guitar rounds things out quietly.
This is not Lincoln's most adventurous album, and it probably doesn't need to be. What it is, is consistent and assured. If you're new to her, start with something earlier. If you already know her and want to hear where she landed, this is a good place to spend an hour.
Who's playing
John Ormondbass
Brandon McCunepiano
Kendra Shankguitar
Joe Lovanotenor saxophone
Jerry Gonzáleztrumpet
Jaz Sawyermembranophone
Jennifer Vincentcello
Where next?
More by Abbey Lincoln
All 26 albums →
The musicians on this record
Their own records, close in time
