Ed Lincoln

Ed Lincoln (Eduardo Lincoln Barbosa de Sabóia; May 31, 1932 – July 16, 2012) was a Brazilian musician, composer and arranger known for a wide variety of styles. As a bassist, he was present at the earliest moments of bossa nova and as a Hammond organ player, he was foundational in establishing the sound of Brazilian jazz and space age pop.

His most widely heard compositions include O Ganso (Ed Lincoln and D'Orlann), É o Cid (Ed Lincoln and Sílvio César), Palladium (Ed Lincoln and Orlandivo) and Ai que Saudade Dessa Nega. His most successful arrangements include O Bêbado (Durval Ferreira and Orlandivo), Na Onda do Berimbau (Oswaldo Nunes), Romantic Partners (Nilo Sérgio) and The Blues Walk, the latter in collaboration with American trumpeter Clifford Brown.

Lincoln's early influences included jazz performances by Shorty Rogers, Gerry Mulligan, J. J. Johnson & Kai Winding, and Chet Baker; artists whose recordings he heard played on the hi-fi systems belonging to the parents of his rich friends. Lincoln soon discovered that the Hammond organ allowed him to use his skill at the piano keyboard while bringing the supporting knowledge of his bass line experience to the organ's foot pedals. The electronic organ also provided a new array of synthetic tonalities he could experiment with.

Lincoln signed with Musidisc in 1960 and released another solo album, This is Ed Lincoln, or Órgão Espetacular (Organ Spectacular), in 1961. Lincoln combined piano and Hammond organ lines by using recording studio technology to double and triple himself in the same song. The first cut on the album was his childhood favorite, Aquarela do Brasil.

20-year-old Eumir Deodato filled in for Lincoln in 1963 when a car accident put Lincoln in recovery for seven months.

Later years

In 1968, Lincoln formed his own record label: De Savoya Discos, releasing a self-titled album with liner notes on the back explaining that the 12 songs were in 12 styles that were very different from each other to show the artist's facility as a performer and composer. He formed the "DeSavoya Combo" and began producing albums and arranging songs for other artists, including Elza Soares in the 1970s.

In 1989, Polygram released what would be Ed Lincoln's last solo album, Ed Lincoln: Novo Toque (New Touch). Lincoln began to use computers as a composition tool on this album, beginning with a Commodore 64.

Several albums have been recorded in Rio at Lincoln's "Studio Ed Lincoln", including one by Marvio Ciribelle called Era só o que Faltava in 1993. Lincoln occasionally accepts recording dates, and appeared playing organ on one track, Conversa Mole, on an Ed Motta album released in 2000.

Death Ed Lincoln died on July 16, 2012, in Rio de Janeiro. Lincoln was 80 years old and he died of respiratory failure.

Pseudonyms

Ed Lincoln recorded under many different names during his career; at times he used a new name for each musical style or for each new record. He was originally listed as Eduardo Lincoln when taking part in larger ensembles, then became Ed Lincoln in 1958. He recorded a single album as "Don Pablo de Havana" in 1962, five albums as "Les 4 Cadillacs" or "Os 4 Cadillacs" from 1961 to 1964 and he arranged, produced and performed with the "De Savoya Combo" in 1969 for his own label "Savoya Discos". In the 1970s and 1980s, he recorded under a large number of American-sounding names. Other aliases include Berry Benton, Cláudio Marcello and "Muchacho nas Bocas". More recently, Lincoln created recordings alone at his computer under the names "Orquestra Romance Tropical", Gloria Benson and "Orquestra Los Angeles".

Filmography

Lincoln appeared in four films: Colégio de Brotos (1955), Vamos com Calma (1956), Na Onda do Iê-Iê-Iê (1966) and Estranho triângulo (1970). He composed the music for two films, the musical comedy Adorável Trapalhão in 1967 (in which he also appeared as himself) and the musical Juventude e Ternura in 1968, working with Érlon Chaves on the latter film.