Dorothy Ashby
Dorothy Ashby had to convince her peers that the harp was a viable jazz
instrument, and once they accepted her into their ranks, she didn’t disappoint.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, on August 6, 1930, Ashby was originally a pianist who
adopted the harp in her early 20s. Alice Coltrane, the other top name in jazz
harp and a fellow Detroiter, would make her solo debut more than decade after
Ashby’s emergence.
Ashby arrived as a solo artist with her debut album, The Jazz Harpist, in 1957,
and released albums at a steady clip through 1970. The Rubaiyat of Dorothy
Ashby, released in...
