Dorothy Ashby: With Strings Attached, 1957-1965

With her work in the late 50s and early 60s, Dorothy Ashby all but single-handedly introduced the jazz community to the harp. While not the only harp player in jazz, Ashbys rich playing ensured that the harp could be the lead instrument and not just a whimsical supportive sound. With Strings Attached, 1957-1965 collects remastered versions of Ashbys first six albums, those where she successfully married the sound of harp to bebop. 1957s introductory The Jazz Harpist finds Ashbys sound arriving more or less fully formed, working with a tight band and rolling through a few Rodgers & Hart tunes and Victor Youngs "Stella by Starlight" before spending side two on four of Ashbys original compositions. On the two albums she made in 1958, Hip Harp and In a Minor Groove, accompanist Frank Wess takes on a larger role, adding prominent flute to harp renditions of standards and an original tune or two. Also included in the set are 1961s Soft Winds: The Swinging Harp of Dorothy Ashby, a self-titled 1962 effort, and 1965s The Fantastic Jazz Harp of Dorothy Ashby, the sole album she made on Atlantic. With Strings Attached, 1957-1965 is a diligent retrospective of the early work of one of jazzs underappreciated talents. Anyone rightfully enamored with Ashbys work from this era will want to seek out her albums from the late 60s and early 70s as well, as her music changed with the times to incorporate soul, world music, and even psychedelic influences, resulting in an early kind of soul-jazz that would prove just as influential (and beautiful) as the more buttoned-up sounds showcased on this collection. ~ Fred Thomas