Abbey is Blue is a record that stands out among many other vocal jazz albums by Abbey Lincoln herself and other singers of this classic jazz era, just as much for what it does include as for what is often not present in this album. The first thing that stands out here, besides Lincoln's gorgeous voice of course, is what it lacks: elaborate arrangements of any kind. In terms of the band that accompanies Lincoln throughout the album, everything here is generally quite minimal. This sparseness here is arguably one of the most important aspects of this album. The band, which included talented musicians such as Kenny Dorham (trumpet) and Max Roach (drums), contributed the perfect amount of mellow, sparse and often melancholic sounding accompaniment, giving the space needed for Lincoln's beautiful voice and lyrics to take center stage.
