DJ Polished Solid brings us a great mix for the Freedom Fighter in you! Make sure to checkout DJ Polished each and every Sunday from 4pm to 6pm on her show No Turn Unstoned right here.

Checkout the playlist after the jump. (more…)

From Eric Dolphy’s 1961 album Candid Dolphy which features Charles Mingus the composer of Reincarnation of a Love Bird on bass. Listening to this is a great way to spend 9:19 of your life.

Actress, writer, civil rights activist and singer Abbey Lincoln died today at the age of 80. With a career spanning over 6 decades, she will be greatly missed. For some great insights into Abbey and her career, check out the twitter hashtag (AbbeyDobsonRIP) and more specifically, the timeline of @NewBlackMan.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to her friends and family.

Excerpt from the Wall Street Journal:

But Lincoln made her most indelible mark in jazz, primarily as a vocalist with a subtle, stately and ultimately intense manner who worked with the form’s greats. Influenced by Billie Holiday, she toyed with dynamics and sang behind the beat when the song warranted, adding sensuality and a depth of wisdom to the lyrics.

In 1960, she and drummer Max Roach, who would become her husband two year later, recorded “We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Suite Now!” With lyrics by Oscar Brown and accompanied by Roach, Coleman Hawkins and others, Lincoln sang of the oppression faced by generations of African-Americans and the ongoing battle for freedom and opportunity, her performance ranging from moaning as if in anguish to soaring vocal flights. It was far from standard fare for jazz performers. In ’61, she released “Straight Ahead” in which she fronted a combo that featured Roach, Hawkins, EricDolphy and Mal Waldron. For the recording, she wrote lyrics to Thelonious Monk’s “Blue Monk.”

Read the full article.

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