You Gotta Pay The Band

You Gotta Pay The Band is the second of ten albums Abbey Lincoln recorded for Verve in the 1990s. Produced by Jean-Philippe Allard at French Polygram Jazz, this session is also arguably one of the best of her career. For one thing, the choice of colleagues was exactly right for her sense of what music should be. She asked for Stan Getz, Allard produced him, and the result is some of Getz’s most deeply and gently attentive playing on record. Joined by the nonpareil pianist Hank Jones, bassist Charlie Haden, drummer Mark Johnson, and (on two songs) Maxine Roach's viola, Abbey Lincoln has made this a typically inspired session.