Abbey Lincoln, the gracious rebellion

By: Joe Farmer Follow

In August 2020, "L'épopée des Musiques Noires" rolls out the red carpet for the great jazz figures of yesterday and today. Our series, "Les Étoiles du Jazz", richly illustrated with unpublished testimonies, will draw the portrait of some icons whose artistic commitment accompanied social changes in the 20th century. 

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Throughout her life, singer Abbey Lincoln was a fighter. Like Billie Holiday, she was a lively skinny, always ready to rise up and denounce the excesses of her time. She lived through the social upheavals of the 1960s and even helped to break down racial barriers, but she never forgave the abuses and bullying. Abbey Lincoln left a deep mark on his time with his claiming jazz imprint. 

Disappeared on August 14, 2010 at the age of 80, she did not see the rebellion of the "Black Lives Matter" movement which would undoubtedly have excited her and which she would certainly have supported and accompanied. During our last interview, Abbey Lincoln did act of memory by telling himself generously so that his words full of lessons reach future generations. She preferred to look back on her past while waiting for this inevitable moment when the word "fullness" takes on its full meaning and invites us to rise above the heavens. 

From his first recordings at the end of the 1950s to the last productions at the dawn of the 21st century, Abbey Lincoln hasn't changed much. Only his voice was affirmed. Its crystalline and deeply moving tonality of the beginnings darkened, over time, by too many wounds and vague to the soul. Abbey Lincoln would have been 90 years old in August 2020. She was born on August 6, 1930 in Chicago and never came to terms with the condition of black women across the Atlantic. "I'm a lioness," she liked to repeat with a smile on her face. 

Alongside drummer Max Roach, she realized that bowing down was not an acceptable alternative in a segregationist society. She therefore participated in a major work, "We Insist! Freedom Now Suite", which called for justice and equality for all African-American citizens. Gradually, she approached her distant roots by calling herself Aminata Moseka after a trip to the African continent in 1972 with the illustrious Miriam Makeba.

Few singers can claim the cultural and political succession of Abbey Lincoln. Few of the performers of jazz heritage recognize Abbey Lincoln's real influence on their own artistic development. Cassandra Wilson may be one of them. Strong head, rebellious, rebellious, she did not hesitate to adapt in 2003 "Throw it away" borrowed from the repertoire of her big sister of heart. To this day, the worthy heiresses of Abbey Lincoln can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Perhaps this tells us that originality and identity are not duplicated ...

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