Dorothy Ashby - In a Minor Groove

I have a theory about harpists. They go to these schools where they study this huge thing and when they finish it they get sucked up by some hidden elitist harpist society that keeps them in their grasp forever. Seriously though, I can think of only a handful harpists and even less songs which include this instrument. It's a shame really, because obviously this instrument can be used for so many types of music.

Jazz is one of those genres that's able to absorb any instrument and make it feel like it's home. Dorothy Ashby seems to handle the instrument quite well, playing an assortment of standards and some of her own compositions as well (or I just didn't recognize that they are from other composers). So the harp at least found a home in jazz but unlike Alice Coltrane she uses it on this album in a much more bebop-y way. She did travel in similar directions afterwards but this album was recorded in 1958 which makes it much more traditional in sound.

The album is played in a quartet setting with a harp, bass, drums and a flute (Frank Wess). As the instrumentation might suggest this album is mainly in a relaxed tone. This is both bad and good; it's good because the musicians are top notch and they know what they are doing, the soloing is also great. The bad part though is that I'd really like to hear some faster jazz played out with a harp. But perhaps this would just ruin the mood of the album. Another drawback of this album is that sometimes Dorothy sounds like a guitar player, which can ruin the enjoyment for me at times. Although these occurrences aren't too often to ruin the whole album. When the instrument shines in its true light it shines really well and Dorothy explores all ranges of the instrument. The wide array of songs lets us see different techniques of playing and the really unique feeling of hearing this instrument in a quartet setting.

Download.