One of Abbey Lincoln's earliest albums – an all star session recorded with backing by Kenny Dorham, Sonny Rollins, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, and Max Roach! Abbey's still pretty straight at this point – singing a variety of wispy love songs and emotional tunes – but she's also bringing a bit more feeling to the material than most singers of her generation – hinting at the sharper tones that would come just a few years later in her work! And given the strength of the sidemen alone, the album's already a cut above most jazz vocal records from the time – but really takes on a strong voice when Abbey opens up on some of the best numbers on the set. Titles include "Strong Man", "My Man", "That's Him", "Don't Explain", "I Must Have That Man", and "When A Woman Loves A Man". LP, Vinyl record album

Early work by Abbey – recorded in a mode that's straighter than she'd sound a few years later – less angry, more like other jazz vocalists of the time, but still with that unmistakable Abbey Lincoln quality in the voice! The arrangements on the set are by Benny Golson – using that light angular edge that always makes his work such a great fit for a hip singer – and other players on the set include Kenny Dorham, Curtis Fuller, Jerome Richardson, Wynton Kelly, and Sahib Shihab. Titles include "I Am In Love", "An Occasional Man", "Out Of The Past", "Love", "Little Niles", "Exactly Like You", and "Just For Me". LP, Vinyl record album