Four Classic Albums Plus (Jazz Harpist / Hip Harp / In A Minor Groove / Dorothy Ashby)

Dorothy Ashby was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1932 and began playing the piano at age eleven. She began taking an interest in the harp while at High School and later at University she was the harp accompanist to the choir and played harp with a concert band and orchestra. Of course the harp was not considered a jazz instrument when Ashby began her career and she can pretty much lay claim to being the first musician to play the harp as a solo instrument in the jazz arena. In fact on her first album "The Jazz Harpist" she can also be acclaimed as a fine writer and arranger as well! Here she is joined by long time musical collaborator Frank Wess on flute, Eddie Jones on bass, Wendell Marshall also on bass and Ed Thigpen on drums. For "Hip Harp" Dot is again joined by Frank Wess on flute alongside Herman Wright on bass and Arthur Taylor on drums. "In A Minor Groove" contains all tunes set in…..a minor key! Similar to "Hip Harp" also featuring Frank Wess on flute, this is jazz of the more subtle and relaxed variety. Also featured are Herman Wright again on bass and Roy Haynes on drums. The last paragraph from the original liner notes neatly sums up the album and playing. "This album not only reiterates that jazz can be played with emotion by the "quieter" instruments but demonstrates that a complete set of minor key tunes does not become wearing…….the minor is a constant stimulus to the ear…" For the self titled "Dorothy Ashby" recorded in Chicago in 1961, Dotty is accompanied by Herman Wright again on bass and John Tooley on drums. Here is a selection of Ashby compositions and classic covers from the likes of John Lewis, Ellington, Strayhorn and Neal Hefti. Another quote from the original liner notes may help explain the sound of jazz led by a harpist! "This is not hard jazz. This is an album that says jazz can, after all, be melodic, that can be gentle without being weak and can be sweet without being saccharine. What is done here is done well, the improvisation is creative, and in typical Dorothy Ashby thinking- it's done in beautiful taste. She is indeed a jazz harpist, and she does swing". Don't be afraid to listen for yourselves, you may be pleasantly surprised!

All four albums plus have been digitally re-mastered.