Rubaiyat Of Dorothy Ashby Rar

Dorothy Jeanne Thompson (August 6, 1932 – April 13, 1986), better known as Dorothy Ashby, was an American jazz harpist and composer. Hailed as one of the most 'unjustly under loved jazz greats of the 1950s' and the 'most accomplished modern. The Rubaiyat of Dorothy Ashby (subtitled Original compositions inspired by the words of Omar Khayyam, arranged and conducted by Richard Evans) is an album by jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby recorded in late 1969 and early 1970 and released on the Cadet label.

Dorothy Jeanne Ashby (* 6. August 1932 in Detroit , Michigan as Dorothy Jeanne Thompson ; † 13. April 1986 in Santa Monica , California ) was an American jazz - harpist and composer . She is one of the few modern jazz harpists , especially bebop . The New Groove Dictionary of Jazz considers her the only important harpist in bop. Although there were jazz harpists like Adele Girard before Ashby , they brought the specific sound of the harp into modern jazz more successfully than their predecessors. She also experimented with guitar-like, electrically amplified sounds and thus influenced later harpists such as Deborah Henson-Conant , Andreas Vollenweider and Carol Robbins .

life and work

Ashby grew up in Detroit , where her father, guitarist Wiley Thompson, introduced her to jazz. As a young girl, she first played the piano. She studied at Cass Technical High School with later jazz greats such as Donald Byrd , Gerald Wilson and Kenny Burrell . Before she started playing the harp, she also played the saxophone and double bass .

After her studies (piano and music education) she started working as a pianist in the Detroit jazz scene; finally from 1952 the harp became her main instrument. In order to promote the recognition of the harp, which with its specific sound was more likely to be attributed to European classical music, in jazz, which was then very wind-dominated, she organized shows with free entry and played with her trio at dance festivals and weddings. From the late 1950s she recorded with Ed Thigpen , Richard Davis , Jimmy Cobb , Frank Wess and others. During the 1960s she also had her own radio show in Detroit.

With her trio, which also included her husband John Ashby as a drummer , she toured regularly and recorded several albums. She also played with Louis Armstrong and Woody Herman . In 1962, she was voted best jazz musician on her instrument in the annual poll of Down Beat magazine. During this time she also worked with her husband in a theater group , the Ashby Players, for which she wrote scripts.

In the later 1960s, the Ashbys settled in California , where Dorothy Ashby worked as a studio musician. She supported Bill Withers , who recommended her to Stevie Wonder . This established her in the Los Angeles studio scene and made records with numerous artists such as Dionne Warwick , Diana Ross , Earth, Wind & Fire and Barry Manilow . She played the harp in the song ' If It's Magic ' on Stevie Wonder's 1976 album Songs in the Key of Life . She can also be heard on Bill Withers' album Justments .

Dorothy Ashby wrote instructions for using the harp and violoncello in jazz with modern harmonies.

Discography (selection)

Between 1956 and 1970 Dorothy Ashby recorded ten albums for jazz labels such as Savoy , Cadet, Prestige , New Jazz, Argo , Jazzland and Atlantic .

1957: The Jazz Harpist ( Regent , Savoy) with Frank Wess , Eddie Jones or Wendell Marshall , Ed Thigpen
1958: Dorothy Ashby plays for Beautiful People (Prestige)
1958: In a Minor Groove (Prestige) with Frank Wess, Herman Wright , Art Taylor
1958: Hip Harp (Prestige) with Frank Wess, Herman Wright, Roy Haynes
1961: Dorothy Ashby (Jazzland)
1961: Soft Winds (Jazzland)
1965: The Fantastic Jazz Harp of Dorothy Ashby (Atlantc) with Junior Mance
1968: Afro Harping (Cadet)
1969: Dorothy's Harp (Cadet)
1970: The Rubaiyat of Dorothy Ashby (Cadet)
1984: Django / Misty (Philips)
1984: Concerto De Aranjuez (Philips)

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