Global InformationDorothy Ashby information
Dorothy Ashby | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Dorothy Jeanne Thompson |
| Born | August 6, 1932 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Died | April 13, 1986 (aged 53) Santa Monica, California |
| Genres | Jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Harp, piano, vocals, koto |
Dorothy Jeanne Thompson (August 6, 1932 – April 13, 1986),[1][2][3] better known as Dorothy Ashby, was an American jazz harpist, singer and composer.[4] Hailed as one of the most "unjustly under loved jazz greats of the 1950s"[5] and the "most accomplished modern jazz harpist,"[6] Ashby established the harp as an improvising jazz instrument, beyond earlier use as a novelty or background orchestral instrument, proving the harp could play bebop as adeptly as the instruments commonly associated with jazz, such as the saxophone or piano.[7]
Ashby had to overcome many obstacles during the pursuit of her career.[8] As an African-American female musician in a male dominated industry, she was at a disadvantage. In a 1983 interview with W. Royal Stokes for his book Living the Jazz Life, she remarked of her career, "It's been maybe a triple burden in that not a lot of women are becoming known as jazz players. There is also the connection with black women. The audiences I was trying to reach were not interested in the harp, period—classical or otherwise—and they were certainly not interested in seeing a black woman playing the harp."[9] Ashby successfully navigated these disadvantages, and subsequently aided in the expansion of who was listening to harp music and what the harp was deemed capable of producing as an instrument.[10]
Ashby's albums were of the jazz genre, but often moved into R&B, world music, and other styles, especially her 1970 album The Rubaiyat of Dorothy Ashby, where she demonstrates her talents on another instrument, the Japanese koto, successfully integrating it into jazz.[11]
- ^ Wynn, Ron (1994), Ron Wynn (ed.), All Music Guide to Jazz, M. Erlewine, V. Bogdanov, San Francisco: Miller Freeman, p. 49, ISBN 0-87930-308-5
- ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2006) [1992]. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (8th ed.). New York: Penguin. p. 48. ISBN 0-1410-2327-9.
- ^ Carr, Ian; Fairweather, Digby; Priestley, Brian (2004). The Rough Guide to Jazz. Rough Guides (3rd ed.). London: Rough Guides. p. 28. ISBN 9781843532569.
- ^ Scott Yanow. "Dorothy Ashby | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
- ^ Moon, Tom (November 15, 2006). "Dorothy Ashby and a Harp That Swings". National Public Radio.
- ^ Placksin, Sally (1982). American Women in Jazz: 1900 to the Present. New York: Seaview Books. p. 239.
- ^ Cook, Richard (2005). Richard Cook's Jazz Encyclopedia. London: Penguin Books. p. 22. ISBN 0-141-00646-3.
- ^ Stokes, W. Royal (2000). Living the Jazz Life. New York, New York: Oxford University Press. p. 157.
- ^ Stokes, W. Royal (2000). Living the Jazz Life. New York, New York: Oxford University Press. p. 158.
- ^ Rensch, Roslyn (2007) [1989]. Harps and Harpists. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 285.
- ^ Johnson, David (March 31, 2017). "The Fantastic Jazz Harp of Dorothy Ashby". Indiana Public Media. Retrieved October 12, 2017.