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Dorothy Ashby: With Strings Attached, 1957-1965

By John Chacona
July 10, 2023
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Dorothy Ashby: With Strings Attached, 1957-1965

Imagine if

Sidney Bechet

saxophone, soprano
1897 - 1959

" data-original-title="" title="">Sidney Bechet,

Charlie Christian

guitar, electric
1916 - 1942

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Christian and

" data-original-title="" title="">Jimmy Smith were barely remembered and recordings of their music were long unavailable and known only on the geekiest corners of Discogs. That is essentially the status of harpist

Dorothy Ashby

harp
1932 - 1996

" data-original-title="" title="">Dorothy Ashby. Like the three figures cited above, Ashby essentially created a language for her chosen instrument, the harp, where virtually none has existed before and established it as a legitimate and expressive vehicle for jazz improvisation at the highest level. Just how brilliantly and effectively she did this is documented on With Strings Attached, 1957—1965 (New Land, 2023). This lavish, limited-edition six-disk box set is pressed on 180-gram vinyl and comes with a 44-page booklet containing extensive notes and a biographical essay and appreciation by Shannon J. Effinger.

Notwithstanding the relative obscurity of these recordings, they are not vault discoveries. This material has been hiding in plain sight with much of it recently issued by European labels of varying degrees of legitimacy. Still, the New Land box is the most comprehensive collection of Ashby's recordings to date. It collects 53 tracks from six sessions: The Jazz Harpist (Regent, 1958), Hip Harp (Prestige, 1958), In A Minor Groove (Prestige, 1958), Soft Winds: The Swinging Harp of Dorothy Ashby (Jazzland, 1961), Dorothy Ashby (Argo, 1962) and The Fantastic Harp of Dorothy Ashby (Atlantic, 1965).

Dorothy Ashby (b.1930) was among the remarkable cohort of jazz musicians born in the first half of the '30s that emerged from Detroit's Cass Technical High School, including

Kenny Burrell

guitar, electric
b.1931

" data-original-title="" title="">Kenny Burrell,

Donald Byrd

trumpet
1932 - 2013

" data-original-title="" title="">Donald Byrd,

Curtis Fuller

trombone
1934 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">Curtis Fuller,

Della Reese

vocals
1931 - 2017

" data-original-title="" title="">Della Reese and

Doug Watkins

bass
1934 - 1962

" data-original-title="" title="">Doug Watkins. Her first instrument was the piano, but she began playing the harp at Cass Tech, which is home to the oldest public school harp program in the U.S. Despite the novelty of an improvising harpist—or perhaps because of it—club owners in the '50s were hesitant to book Ashby as a leader. Sexism further limited her opportunities, but Ashby took whatever gigs she could—weddings, parties and dances. On a swing through Detroit with the

Count Basie

piano
1904 - 1984

" data-original-title="" title="">Count Basie band,

Frank Wess

saxophone, tenor
1922 - 2013

" data-original-title="" title="">Frank Wess, a pioneer of the jazz flute, heard Ashby and invited her to New York to record.

The first three records, nearly half the tracks in the New Land box, feature the congenial pairing of Ashby and Wess. Flute and harp go together like peanut butter and jelly, a fact known since Mozart's day, and the 22 tracks on which they are paired make for charming and delightful music. The light-footed grace with which Ashby and Wess swing make it easy to dismiss their collaboration as solid, workmanlike product from the busy '50s Prestige factory. But that sells Ashby's achievements short.

For starters, the 47-string concert harp is singularly unsuited to navigating the complex and changing harmonies of the standards that dominate the setlists, especially at brisk tempos. To change keys, Ashby had to execute balletic footwork on a series of seven pedals. If Wess is

Fred Astaire

vocals
1899 - 1987

" data-original-title="" title="">Fred Astaire, then Ashby is Ginger Rodgers, doing everything Wess is doing only backward and in heels.

Yet she shows a dazzling variety of skills and approaches. Spinning complex single-line right-hand runs with left-hand punctuations on the offbeats, Ashby brings to the harp the classic bebop piano language of her fellow Detroiter and exact contemporary

Barry Harris

piano
1929 - 2021

" data-original-title="" title="">Barry Harris. She can sound like a guitarist, especially on the blues that pepper these sessions, but mostly she sounds like nobody else, probably because there was nobody else with Ashby's combination of technical skill and imagination.

Wess is mostly excellent, though at times, he can sound less than engaged with the material, especially on In A Minor Groove. On the Ashby/Wess records,

Ed Thigpen

drums
1930 - 2010

" data-original-title="" title="">Ed Thigpen,

Art Taylor

drums
1929 - 1995

" data-original-title="" title="">Art Taylor and

Roy Haynes

drums
1926 - 2024

" data-original-title="" title="">Roy Haynes represent luxury casting in the drum chair, but they are given little to do beyond keeping time with brushes, staying out of the way of the relatively soft-spoken front-line instruments. Bassists

Wendell Marshall

bass, acoustic
b.1920

" data-original-title="" title="">Wendell Marshall,

Eddie Jones

bass, acoustic
b.1929

" data-original-title="" title="">Eddie Jones and the forgotten

Herman Wright

bass

" data-original-title="" title="">Herman Wright walk four impressively, but all the action is on the top line and Ashby always delivers.

The fourth record in the box set, Soft Winds, is a high point. Solid swinger Wright returns on bass, and

Jimmy Cobb

drums
1929 - 2020

" data-original-title="" title="">Jimmy Cobb, nearing the end of his tenure with

Miles Davis

trumpet
1926 - 1991

" data-original-title="" title="">Miles Davis swings like crazy. Thanks perhaps to better studio isolation (the first three sessions were recorded in the living room of

Rudy Van Gelder

various
1924 - 2016

" data-original-title="" title="">Rudy Van Gelder's parents' home) or advances in recording techniques (the date is from 1961) sticks, replacing the brushes, make a welcome debut.

Yet the star of the 1961 session is pianist and vibraphonist

Terry Pollard

vibraphone
1931 - 2009

" data-original-title="" title="">Terry Pollard, a fellow Detroiter one year younger than Ashby and even more neglected by history. The two strike sparks from the beginning of the title cut, with Ashby strumming four like

Charlie Christian

guitar, electric
1916 - 1942

" data-original-title="" title="">Charlie Christian behind Pollard's bubbling lines, played with the verve of

Lionel Hampton

vibraphone
1908 - 2002

" data-original-title="" title="">Lionel Hampton. Ashby sounds exceptionally engaged on this session. Her octaves on "I've Never Been In Love Before" recall

Wes Montgomery

guitar
1923 - 1968

" data-original-title="" title="">Wes Montgomery while "With Strings Attached" demonstrate how Ashby and Pollard were aware of the modal advances of Davis and

John Coltrane

saxophone
1926 - 1967

" data-original-title="" title="">John Coltrane. Together, they even manage to spin the dross of Dimitri Tiomkin's theme from "The Guns of Navarone" into pure gold.

The final two records do not quite reach the level of Soft Winds though Ashby is always solid. Dorothy Ashby recorded in Chicago one week before Soft Winds, finds her in a trio with Wright and her husband, who uses his stage name,

John Tooley

drums

" data-original-title="" title="">John Tooley. "Secret Love" swings out confidently and her original "John R." is a boogaloo blues—two years before

Mongo Santamaria

percussion
1917 - 2003

" data-original-title="" title="">Mongo Santamaria's cover of "Watermelon Man."

The final session, The Fantastic Harp of Dorothy Ashby, brings us to 1965. Recorded for Atlantic by Tom Dowd and produced by Arif Mardin the date finds Ashby in the company of first-call New York studio cats

Richard Davis

bass, acoustic
1930 - 2023

" data-original-title="" title="">Richard Davis on bass, drummer

Grady Tate

drums
1932 - 2017

" data-original-title="" title="">Grady Tate and

Willie Bobo

percussion
1934 - 1983

" data-original-title="" title="">Willie Bobo on percussion. A quartet of trombones adds color and rhythmic punch to six of the 10 cuts. It is swanky in a mid-'60 sort of way, but Ashby still shines, channeling Montgomery on "House Of The Rising Sun," and somehow sailing through the chromatic labyrinth of "Invitation," a tune that should be impossible to play on the harp, as though it were "Chopsticks."

Three more leader dates for Chicago's Cadet label would follow, and a couple of solo harp recordings in the 80s. Those are not included in this set, but with the possible exception of Afro-Harping (Cadet, 1968), Ashby's best work as a leader is all here, ready for rediscovery.

Dorothy Ashby didn't spawn a school of followers—unless you count

Alice Coltrane

piano
1937 - 2007

" data-original-title="" title="">Alice Coltrane, another Cass Tech graduate who played piano and harp albeit in a very different style, That is hardly Ashby's fault. Unlike Bechet's soprano saxophone, Christian's guitar or Smith's organ, a harp was not something you were likely to find in the local band room, music store or church. For an instrument, this difficult to learn, expensive to own and challenging to transport, marginality is all but assured.

Yet as this illuminating box amply demonstrates, and thanks to the revival of interest in Coltrane's so-called spiritual jazz and the advocacy of youthful players such as

Brandee Younger

harp
b.1983

" data-original-title="" title="">Brandee Younger, the harp is once again knocking on the door of the broader jazz consciousness, retracing the bold steps made by Dorothy Ashby 70 years ago.

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Track Listing

The Jazz Harpist

Thou Swell; Stella by Starlight; Dancing on the Ceiling; Aeolian Groove; Quietude; Spicy; Lamentation.

Hip Harp

Pawky; Moonlight in Vermont; Back Talk; Dancing in the Dark; Charmaine; Jollity; There's a Small Hotel.

In a Minor Groove

Rascallity; You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To; It's a Minor Thing; Yesterdays; Bohemia After Dark; Taboo; Autumn in Rome; Alone Together.

Soft Winds: The Swinging Harp of Dorothy Ashby

Soft Winds; Wild as the Wind; The Man I Love; My Ship; Love Is Here to Stay; I've Never Been in Love Before; With Strings Attached; Laura; The Guns of Navarone; Misty; The Gypsy in My Soul.

Dorothy Ashby

Lonely Melody; Secret Love; Gloomy Sunday; Satin Doll; John R.; Li'l Darlin'; Booze; Django; You Stepped Out of a Dream; Stranger in Paradise.

The Fantastic Jazz Harp of Dorothy Ashby

Flighty; Essence of Sapphire; Why Did You Leave Me; I Will Follow You; What Am I Here For; House of the Rising Sun; Invitation; Nabu Corfa; Feeling Good; Dodi Li.

Personnel

Dorothy Ashby

harp

Ed Thigpen

drums

Wendell Marshall

bass, acoustic

Eddie Jones

bass, acoustic

Herman Wright

bass

Art Taylor

drums

Roy Haynes

drums

Terry Pollard

vibraphone

Jimmy Cobb

drums

John Tooley

drums

Richard Davis

bass, acoustic

Grady Tate

drums

Willie Bobo

percussion

Jimmy Cleveland

trombone

Quentin Jackson

trombone

Sonny Russo

trombone

Tony Studd

trombone, bass

Additional Instrumentation

The Jazz Harpist

Dorothy Ashby: harp; Frank Wess: flute; Ed Thigpen: drums; Wendell Marshall, Bass (1, 2, 4, 5); Eddie Jones: bass (3,6,7).

Hip Harp

Dorothy Ashby: harp; Frank Wess: flute; Herman Wright: bass; Art Taylor: drums

In a Minor Groove

Dorothy Ashby: harp; Frank Wess: flute; Herman Wright: bass; Roy Haynes: drums.

Soft Winds: The Swinging Harp Of Dorothy Ashby

Dorothy Ashby: harp; Terry Pollard: piano, vibraphone; Herman Wright: bass; Jimmy Cobb: drums.

Dorothy Ashby

Dorothy Ashby: harp; Herman Wright: bass; John Tooley: drums.

The Fantastic Jazz Harp Of Dorothy Ashby

Dorothy Ashby: harp; Richard Davis: bass; Grady Tate: drums; Willie Bobo: percussion; Jimmy Cleveland, Quentin Jackson, Sonny Russo, Tony Studd: trombone.

Album information

Title: With Strings Attached, 1957-1965 | Year Released: 2023 | Record Label: New Land Records

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