It's Magic (Abbey Lincoln album)

It's Magic is the third album by American jazz vocalist Abbey Lincoln featuring tracks recorded in 1958 for the Riverside label.[1]

It's Magic
Studio album by
Released1958
RecordedJuly 24 & August 15, 1958
New York City
GenreJazz
Length35:48
LabelRiverside
RLP 12-277
ProducerOrrin Keepnews
Abbey Lincoln chronology
That's Him!
(1957)
It's Magic
(1958)
Abbey Is Blue
(1959)

Reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic     [2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings    [3]
The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide     [4]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz     [5]

The editors of AllMusic awarded the album 4½ stars, and reviewer Scott Yanow stated: "Because Abbey Lincoln has always been careful to sing songs that have a deep meaning for her, all of her recordings through the years are memorable in their own way; there are no duds in her discography... Recommended".[2]

In an article for The Guardian, John Fordham noted that the album finds Lincoln "taking on the agenda and urgency of the civil rights movement and the edginess of a freer kind of jazz still to come," and commented: "'Ain't Nobody's Business'... and 'Little Niles'... are lyrically irresistible."[6]

Track listing

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  1. "I Am in Love" (Cole Porter) – 2:49
  2. "It's Magic" (Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne) – 4:03
  3. "Just for Me" (Jimmy Komack) – 3:36
  4. "An Occasional Man" (Ralph Blane, Hugh Martin) – 3:23
  5. "Ain't Nobody's Business" (Porter Grainger, Everett Robbins) – 4:29
  6. "Out of the Past" (Benny Golson, Jon Hendricks) – 4:46
  7. "Music, Maestro, Please!" (Herb Magidson, Allie Wrubel) – 3:18
  8. "Love" (Blane, Martin) – 2:41
  9. "Exactly Like You" (Dorothy Fields, Jimmy McHugh) – 2:55
  10. "Little Niles" (Randy Weston, Hendricks) – 5:03
  • Recorded in New York City on July 24 (tracks 3–5, 7 & 9) and August 15 (tracks 1, 2, 6, 8 & 10), 1958

Personnel

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References

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  1. ^ Riverside Records discography, accessed September 13, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Yanow, S. Allmusic review, accessed September 13, 2012.
  3. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 894. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  4. ^ Swenson, John, ed. (1999). The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide. Random House. p. 426.
  5. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2004). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Jazz. Virgin Books. p. 538.
  6. ^ Fordham, John (May 20, 2010). "Abbey Lincoln: Abbey Is Blue/It's Magic". The Guardian. Retrieved March 4, 2024.