Dorothy Ashby - The Best of Dorothy Ashby - Elegant Jazz Harp & Classic Standards Collection (Mono Remastered) (2026) [24/44]

The harp is not an instrument that easily gives itself over to free swing and quick improvisations. That’s one of the reasons why there have been very few credible jazz harpists. In fact, I can only think of four working today: Lori Andrews, Edmar Castaneda, Deborah Henson-Conant and Brandee Younger.

Dorothy Ashby was a pioneer. She was the first to play credible bebop on the harp. She showed that this unwieldy instrument could actually swing.

She was born Dorothy Jeanne Thompson in Detroit, in 1932. Her father was a jazz guitarist, who would often bring home fellow musicians to jam. Young Dorothy would be a part of some of these sessions, sitting in on piano. She attended Detroit’s famed Cass Technical High School, where her classmates included jazz luminaries Kenny Burrell and Donald Byrd. Her early instruments were the sax and the bass before turning to the harp. She studied piano and music education at Wayne State University.

In 1952, Dorothy set out to make a living on the competitive Detroit jazz scene. She easily could have found work as a pianist, but she made the gutsy decision to concentrate on her beloved harp. The cats in Detroit weren’t too keen on making the harp and its perceived ethereal, effete sound part of a jazz combo. To overcome this resistance, Dorothy organized free shows and played at dances and weddings with her harp-led combo, which included her husband, John Ashby, on drums. Eventually she won doubters over and the gigs and recordings began to come with some regularity.

“This isn’t just a novelty, though that is what you expect. The harp has a clean jazz voice with a resonance and syncopation that turn familiar jazz phrasing inside out.” – Dorothy Ashby

Tracklist:
01. Moonlight in Vermont (Remastered)
02. Dancing in the Dark (Remastered)
03. Yesterdays (Remastered)
04. You'd Be So Nice To Come Here (Remastered)
05. There's a Small Hotel (Remastered)
06. Bohemia After Dark (Remastered)
07. Charmaine (Remastered)
08. Taboo (Remastered)
09. Autumn in Rome (Remastered)
10. Back Talk (Remastered)
11. It's a Minor Thing (Remastered)
12. Jollity (Remastered)
13. Rascallity (Remastered)


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