Dorothy Ashby/Frank Wess: In A Minor Groove [REAL GONE]

Why you'll love it

This mono pressing comes from the original tapes and ships in a rice paper inner sleeve. Ashby's harp and Wess's flute make a sound no other hard bop session of 1958 had, backed by Herman Wright on bass and Roy Haynes on drums.

This edition

• Mono
• Cut from the original mono tapes
• Rice paper inner sleeve

About the album

The harp has spent most of its career being wheeled into orchestras for the pretty bits. Detroit's Dorothy Ashby had other plans: she played it like a bebop horn, with swing in the plucking and blues in the voicings, and on this New Jazz session from September 1958 she made the case in about 40 minutes.

Frank Wess, better known for his years in Count Basie's band, trades his tenor for flute here, and the pairing is lovely: two light, airy voices weaving around each other while Herman Wright and Roy Haynes keep it moving. Ashby's own "Rascallity" and "It's a Minor Thing" open each idea with a wink, and the standards get fresh air too, from Cole Porter's "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" and Kern's "Yesterdays" to Oscar Pettiford's "Bohemia After Dark" and a slow, glowing "Alone Together." Rudy Van Gelder engineered and Bob Weinstock supervised.

The album has also turned up as Dorothy Ashby Plays for Beautiful People, and AllMusic hailed her as an individualist for the ages. We can confirm the harp fits on a turntable rather more easily than in a hatchback.

Also at Kops: more Dorothy Ashby on vinyl · browse Classic Jazz

Tracklist

Listen

On New Jazz / Real Gone Music (cat# RGM-1474), a reissue of the 1958 album.