Dorothy Ashby

Artist: Dorothy Ashby

LP: Afro-Harping

Song: "Soul Vibrations"

[ listen ]

Last weekend I met my friend Edwardo for breakfast at the Easy Street record store and cafe in West Seattle. There's usually a pretty long wait for a table there on weekends, and there really isn't much to do in the meantime besides dig through old records. This 1984 Canadian repressing of Dorothy Ashby's 1968 "Afro-Harping" LP is one of the things I picked up before our meal. Originally from Detroit, Dorothy was a pioneering advocate for using the harp in jazz and R&B music. You can read about the life and career of Dorothy Ashby here, where you'll also find a list of other popular musicians she recorded with, and there's more information in the LP liner notes below.

[ Dorothy Ashby: August 6, 1932 — April 13, 1986 ]