''Afro-Harping'' is an album by jazz harpist

Dorothy Ashby Dorothy Jeanne Thompson (August 6, 1932 – April 13, 1986), better known as Dorothy Ashby, was an American jazz harpist, singer and composer. Hailed as one of the most "unjustly under loved jazz greats of the 1950s" and the "most accomplished ...

recorded in 1968 and released on the

Cadet A cadet is a student or trainee within various organisations, primarily in military contexts where individuals undergo training to become commissioned officers. However, several civilian organisations, including civil aviation groups, maritime ...

label.

Reception

Ron Wynn, in his review for

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, calls the album "the best and most complete album done by jazz harpist (a rare style) Dorothy Ashby... She turned the harp into a lead instrument, and offered solos that were as tough and memorable as those done by any reed, brass, or percussion player.Wynn, R
Allmusic Review
accessed May 13, 2013 A reviewer of

Dusty Groove Dusty Groove is a Chicago-based Online music store, online Record shop, record store specializing in music release, new and vintage jazz, funk, Soul music, soul, Hip hop music, hip-hop, World music, world, Rare groove, rare, collectible, and vi ...

mentioned "One of the grooviest records ever – a sublime blend of African percussion, soulful orchestrations, and Dorothy Ashby's amazing electric harp! By the time of this landmark album, Dorothy had been knocking around the jazz world for a number of years, but it wasn't until she hooked up with Richard Evans at Cadet Records that her sound really began to cook – breaking down genres and expectations in the trademark style of the best late 60s sides from the Chicago underground. The record's got a bit of funk, a bit of jazz, and a heck of a lot of soul – and the setting works perfectly for Dorothy's harp, giving it a lot more room to work around than some of her smaller jazz combo albums".

Track listing

''All compositions by Dorothy Ashby except as indicated'' # "Soul Vibrations" (Richard Evans) - 3:22 # "Games" - 3:57 # "Action Line" - 3:43 # "Lonely Girl" (

Redd Evans Redd Evans (July 6, 1912 – August 29, 1972) was a lyricist whose songs have been recorded by Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra, Doris Day, and many others. He may be best known for " There! I've Said It Again", a song that Bobby Vinton took to the top ...

Neal Hefti Neal Paul Hefti (October 29, 1922 – October 11, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and arranger. He wrote music for '' The Odd Couple'' movie and TV series and for the ''Batman'' TV series. He began arranging professionally in hi ...

Jay Livingston Jay Livingston (born Jacob Harold Levison; March 28, 1915 – October 17, 2001) was an American composer best known as half of a composing-songwriting duo with Ray Evans, with whom he specialized in composing film scores and original soundtrack ...

) - 3:15 # "Life Has Its Trials" - 4:31 # "Afro-Harping" (Dorothy Ashby,

Phil Upchurch Phillip Upchurch (born July 19, 1941) is an American soul music, R&B, jazz and blues guitarist and bassist. Career Upchurch started his career working with the Kool Gents, the Dells, and the Spaniels, before going on to work with Curtis Mayfiel ...

) - 3:01 # "Little Sunflower" (

Freddie Hubbard Frederick Dewayne Hubbard (April 7, 1938 – December 29, 2008) was an American jazz trumpeter. He played bebop, hard bop, and post-bop styles from the early 1960s onwards. His unmistakable and influential tone contributed to new perspectives fo ...

) - 3:47 # "

Valley of the Dolls Valley of the Dolls may refer to: * ''Valley of the Dolls'' (novel), a 1966 novel by Jacqueline Susann ** ''Valley of the Dolls'' (film), a 1967 film adapted from the novel *** " (Theme from) Valley of the Dolls", the title song from the film, pe ...

" (

André Previn André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...

Dory Previn Dorothy Veronica "Dory" Previn (née Langan; October 22, 1925 – February 14, 2012) was an American lyricist, singer-songwriter and poet. During the late 1950s and 1960s, Previn was a lyricist on songs intended for motion pictures and, with h ...

) - 3:35 # "Come Live With Me" (Russ Carlyle, Mike Caranda, Ivan Washabaugh) - 2:39 # " The Look of Love" (

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Start ...

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David was born and raised in New ...

) - 4:06

Personnel

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orchestras or ...

*Unidentified orchestra

arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestratio ...

and

conducted Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or Choir, choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary d ...

by Richard Evans

References

External links

Review on Allaboutjazz.comA Dorothy Ashby Discography
{{Authority control Dorothy Ashby albums 1968 albums Cadet Records albums Jazz-funk albums