I really enjoyed putting this playlist together. Dorothy Ashby was an incredible jazz harpist. She also wrote music reviews for the Detroit Free Press, founded and acted in her own theater company, hosted a radio show, and became a studio musician on some of the greatest albums of the 1970s. She was a true innovator. I really respect artists who create as the spirit moves them without concern for how their art will be perceived or categorized. She wanted to write, so she wrote. She wanted to act, so she acted. May we all aspire to such clarity of creative spirit.
I have searched high and low for recordings of her radio show to no avail. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find audio recordings of any interviews with her. If you listen carefully to the first track, you can hear her hum along with her solos. She also sings on "Myself When Young". I’ll keep looking, but for now, that will have to do. Enjoy the music of Dorothy Ashby!
1957
"Aeolian Groove"
From Dorothy Ashby's The Jazz Harpist
1958
"Moonlight in Vermont"
From Dorothy Ashyb''s Hip Harp
4:12
1958
"It's a Minor Thing"
from Dorothy Ashby's In a Minor Groove
9:26
1961
"I've Never Been in Love Before"
From Dorothy Ashby's Soft Winds
13:19
1962
""John R."
From Dorothy Ashby's self titled album
15:45
1965
"Invitation"
From Dorothy Ashby's The Fantastic Jazz Harp of Dorothy Ashby
18:59
1968
"Action Line"
From Dorothy Ashby's Afro Harping
21:55
1969
"Canto de Ossanha"
From Dorothy Ashby's Dorothy's Harp
25:34
1970
"Myself When Young"
From Dorothy Ashby's The Rubaiyat of Dorothy Ashby
29:10
1974
"Stories"
From Bill Wither's Justments
34:31
1975
"Love and Its Glory"
From Minnie Riperton's Adventures in Paradise
37:17
1976
"If It's Magic"
From Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life
42:24
1977
"Portrait of Jenny"
From Freddie Hubbard's Bundle of Joy
45:39
1984
"Django"
from Dorothy Ashby's Django/Misty
51:59
1984
"Concierto de Aranjuez"
from Dorothy Ashby's album by the same title
56:54