Jazz90.1 has learned that jazz singer Abbey Lincoln has passed away. She was 80 years old. For more information, including videos of Lincoln, click here.  Lincoln was one of the last great jazz singers, as well as one of the music’s most gifted songwriters. Since signing with Verve in 1989, she has enjoyed a tremendous creative flowering as a poet, songwriter, painter, actress, and singer. There’s no other jazz vocalist today who commands her authority of expression. On Over the Years, her eighth recording for Verve, she delivers ten new songs-including five that she penned-that are luminous with meaning, musicality, and humanity. Over the Years is a reflective disc, with equal parts melancholy, joy, and insight. Yet it is also an uplifting album, one that’s full of compassion and ultimately inspiring. At the core of the outing is Lincoln’s artistry-the power of her songwriting and the elegance, simplicity, and heartfelt nature of her vocals.
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