"Aminata: Abbey Lincolns Song of Faith takes readers on a journey into the life of one of the most extraordinary cultural, artistic, and intellectual figures of our time. Abbey Lincoln was a philosopher. Everything that flowed from her wellspring of creativity was rooted in her insatiable quest to understand the world and her particular place in it. And she was not satisfied with easy answers. She was determined to find her truth, and to embody that truth in her living. Aminata recasts Lincoln as a tremendous figure within the African American intellectual tradition. Lincolns extraordinary work as a jazz musician and composer is examined in the light of her poetry, plays, essays, and reflections. Her avid writing, which unfolded throughout most of her adulthood, bequeathed a philosophical richness essential to formulating a comprehensive understanding of her music, her life, and the shared experiences of Black women artists from the mid-twentieth century to the present"-- Provided by publisher.

"Abbey Lincoln (1930-2010), one of the greatest jazz vocalists of the twentieth century, was also an acclaimed composer, poet, playwright, actress, activist, and a towering figure within the African American intellectual tradition. Through constant reinvention, she resisted easy stereotyping and helped open a space for Black women artists to invoke their whole selves. Here, with meticulous research and insightful analysis, Ada C. M. Thomas contemplates Lincolns music alongside her poetry, plays, and reflections, revealing a multifaceted artist whose philosophical inquiries resonate deeply with the Black experience.Thomas places her albums in the context of both the female jazz and blues singers who influenced her and the male composers she collaborated with, including John Coltrane, Thelonius Monk, and Max Roach. Highlighting Lincolns central position within a vibrant global community of Black artists, activists, and writers, it also puts her work into conversation with that of contemporaries and close friends like Maya Angelou, Miriam Makeba, and Toni Morrison. Above all, it traces Lincolns extraordinary spiritual and intellectual journey, from her early life in Michigan to her rebirth in the 1970s as Aminata Moseka, meaning "faithful goddess of love," and her ultimate resurgence in the nineties as a critically acclaimed jazz artist and composer.

With reverence and rigor, Thomas invites readers to rediscover Abbey Lincoln and embrace the transformative power of her words"-- Provided by publisher.