Abe Lincoln Trombone Masthead Image
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Photo Gallery

The Bud Lincoln Orchestra, 1921

The Bud Lincoln Orchestra (also known as the Brunswick Dance Orchestra), Philadelphia, PA - 1921 (Picture 1 of 2)

Personnel L to R:  Bugs Boganoff, drums; John "Fat" Dibert, banjo; Frank Whitman, piano; Abe Lincoln, trombone; Bud Lincoln, trumpet; Sammy Dibert, sax

The Bud Lincoln Orchestra -1921 (photo 2)

The Bud Lincoln Orchestra (also known as the Brunswick Dance Orchestra), Philadelphia, PA - 1921 (Picture 2 of 2)

Personnel L to R:  Bugs Boganoff, drums; Frank Whitman, piano; John "Fat" Dibert, banjo; Bud Lincoln, trumpet; Sammy Dibert, sax; Abe Lincoln, trombone

Sigmund Romberg Orchestra NBC

The NBC Orchestra under the direction of Sigmund Romberg

(Abe Lincoln in back row, fourth from left)

NBC Orchestra Back Row Brass

Aside from being a world class trombonist, Abe had a reputation for his unpredictable sense of humor.  In the following photo, Abe is playing his horn while resting its slide on the floor.  In order to do this, Abe would stand up as shown, rest the slide on the floor, then bob up and down to place the slide in the correct position(s) to play.

Abe playing horn w/slide on floor

Abe's horn in the above photo is a New York Bach Stradivarius 12 bell mated to a Bach 16 slide, manufactured September 23rd, 1938.

Below is a more recent photo of this horn, along with the above pictured Harmon Mute and mouthpiece.  Many thanks go out to Terry Priest of Hillje Music Center in San Antonio, TX for his masterful, restorative work on this historic instrument.

I also extent my gratitude to Terry's dad, the late Arnold Priest for his earlier restorative work on Abe's horn.  Arnold was truly an artist and his skill with brass instruments was legendary.  His son, Terry, continues that tradition to this day.

Abe Lincoln Bach 12 with 16 Slide

Abe was a virtuoso of the "wah-wah" Harmon mute and was known for his being able to make the horn "talk."  Abe was frequently called upon to use the Harmon mute on everything from Pat Buttram's radio program to Woody Woodpecker cartoons.  In fact, Abe would frequently refer to his Harmon mute as his "money maker" mute.

Harmon Mute Photo 1

Harmon Mute Photo 2

Abe was also a skilled craftsman and was very adept at restoring vintage wall clocks and grandfather clocks.  He would frequently apply these skills to modifying mouthpieces to suit him.  Here's Abe's 1930's-vintage New York Bach 12 mouthpiece that Abe modified by turning down the shank in order to permit it to fit further into the horn; thus, getting a brighter sound.  This particular model of Bach mouthpiece was listed in the 1938 Bach catalog as "An all-around mouthpiece.  For theater and concert work."

  Abe Lincoln Bach 12 Mouthpiece1938 Bach Trombone Mouthpiece Catalog Page

The following photo was taken at the home of Frank Worth* during a jam session with members of his orchestra.

Frank Werth Orchestra Jam Session

Personnel L to R: Paul Teonnings, bass: George Werth (Frank's brother), trumpet; Benny Gill; Unidentified drummer; "Pappy" Graham; Benny Cantor, clarinet (later owned Baxter Northup Music Co. in Sherman Oaks, CA); Abe Lincoln, trombone; Don Ferris, piano

*During the 1930's, Frank Worth, born in Hungary, changed his last name to "Werth."  Many thanks go to Frank Worth's son, Franz, and to Abe Lincoln's son, A.J. Lincoln for providing additional information regarding this photo.

For many years, the Blue Angel Jazz Club of Pasadena hosted annual jazz parties. The sessions were recorded and subsequently released as albums available via mail order. The photo below was taken in 1968 during one of these sessions.

Blue Angels Jazz Club 1969

Abe was a special guest artist at the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society's 1976 Sacramento Jazz Jubilee.  Here, Abe is center stage leading a trombone extravaganza comprised of just about every trombonist performing at the festival.

Abe Lincoln STJS 1976 Jubilee

Due to the notoriety Abe received as a result of his work with the Rampart Street Paraders, Abe received a nomination for the 1958 annual Playboy All-Star Jazz Poll, presented below by Maxwell Emmett "Pat" Buttram. 

Abram Lincoln 1958 Playboy Jazz Poll Nomination Presentation

L. to R. - Frank Worth, Pat Buttram, Abram "Abe" Lincoln

Playboy Jazz Poll Nomination Certificate 1958

The following photos have been provided courtesy of the Ray Avery Estate.  The webmaster and the Abram Lincoln Estate would like to extend a most heartfelt thanks to Ms. Cynthia Sesso, Licensing Administrator of the Ray Avery Photo Archives.  Please note that these photos remain the property of the Ray Avery Estate and are used here with permission.  Any inquiries regarding their use, commercial or otherwise, should be directed to:  Cynthia Sesso at CTSIMAGES

Below, are photos taken during an appearance of the Rampart Street Paraders on the July 30th, 1956 broadcast of the Stars Of Jazz television show on KABC-TV (Los Angeles), hosted by Bobby Troup. 

Stars Of Jazz Rampart St Paraders 2

Personnel (L. to R.) - Abram "Abe" Lincoln, tbn; Clyde Hurley, tpt; Phil Stephens, bass; Matty Matlock, clarinet; Eddie Miller, tenor sax; Stan Wrightsman, piano; Nick Fatool, drums (not pictured - George Van Eps, guitar)

Stars of Jazz Rampart St Paraders 1

Personnel (L. to R.) - Same as above

Stars Of Jazz Rampart St Paraders 3

Stars Of Jazz Rampart St Paraders 4

Personnel L. to R. - Stan Wrightsman, piano (head above cymbal); Abram "Abe" Lincoln, trombone; Matty Matlock, clarinet

The following photos (taken at various venues as noted) are also part of the Ray Avery collection.

Ojai Jazz Festival 1977

Ojai Jazz Festival, September 23, 1977 - Personnel L. to R. - Eddie Miller, tenor sax; Abe Most, clarinet; Nick Fatool, drums; Johnny Best, trumpet; Abram "Abe" Lincoln, tbn

Matty Matlock Tribute 1978

Jazz Forum "Tribute to Matty Matlock" 1978 - Personnel L. to R. - unknown (off camera), bass; Abram "Abe" Lincoln, tbn; "Wild" Bill Davison, cornet; George Van Eps (?), guitar; Abe Most, clarinet

Bill Bailey's Club Encino, CA 1966

Bill Bailey's Club - Encino, CA 1966

The photos that follow are provided courtesy of Capitol Records/EMI Photo Archives.  Please note that these photos remain the exclusive property of Capitol/EMI Music Group and are used here with permission.  Any questions regarding their use, both commercial or otherwise, should be directed to Xilonen Oreshnick at Capitol/EMI.  Both the webmaster and the Abram Lincoln Estate would like to extend to Xilonen Oreshnick and Jake Jacobs at EMI Music Group, Ltd. a most heartfelt and sincere thanks for making photos from this historic recording session available to us.

These photos were taken during a recording session on the stage of "Studio A" at Capitol Records' 5515 Melrose Ave. studios, October 18-19, 1955.  This recording session resulted in the release of the now-historic album, Coast Concert.  To the best of the webmaster's knowledge, this is the only time Abe and Jack Teagarden ever recorded together. UPDATE 11/8/2011: It has just come to the attention of the webmaster that Abe and Jack did perform again together 9 months later, July 30th, 1956, on a KABC-TV broadcast of the Stars Of Jazz television show, hosted by Bobby Troup.  In addition to the Rampart Street Paraders, Jack Teagarden was also a guest on this broadcast.  Click here to navigate to the video page to see an excerpt of this broadcast.

Abe Lincoln and Jack Teagarden Coast Concert

L. to R. - Abram "Abe" Lincoln; Jack Teagarden

Abe Lincoln conferring with Bobby Hackett

L. to R. - Joseph Hilton "Nappy" Lamare, acoustic guitar; Nick Fatool, drums; Bobby Hackett, cornet; Abram "Abe" Lincoln, trombone; Phil Stephens, bass (partially hidden behind Abe); Jack Teagarden, trombone

Abe Lincoln with Harmon mute.

The above photograph shows Abe playing Harmon mute fills behind Jack Teagarden's vocal on St. James Infirmary.  This cut was rejected for inclusion in the vinyl release of Coast Concert; however, it was included in Mosaic Records' limited edition, The Complete Capitol Fifties Jack Teagarden Collection.  Abe was noted for his expertise with the Harmon mute.  This is the same mute depicted in the photo above.

Many thanks go out to renown jazz drummer Hal Smith for providing the following photo, taken at the Huddle in Pasadena, CA; most likely in 1966 or 1967.

The Huddle - Pasadena, CA

L. to R. - Bob McCracken (?), reeds; "Wild" Bill Davison, cornet; Vess Bethel, banjo (partially hidden); Abram "Abe" Lincoln, trombone; Harold "Smokey" Stover, drums; Marvin Ash, piano

The image below is an advertisement for Ace Brigode and His 14 Virginians that appeared on page 69 of Variety on Wednesday, October 1, 1924.  Abe was only 17 years old at the time.

Ace Brigode - Variety October 1st, 1924

The following comments about Abe are excerpted from the above advertisement:

Ace Brigode advertisement exerpt.