Just as Rufus Harley expanded the musical possibilities of the bagpipes, Dorothy Ashby likewise liberated the harp from its orchestral internment. Dorothy Ashby was, as it says on her 1957 debut album, a “jazz harpist” — though not strictly. 1968’s “Soul Vibrations” as you can hear, also incorporates funk and electronic sounds into the musical mix:
“Soul Vibrations“
Dorothy Ashby (1968)
Zero to 180 notes with interest the ‘Future Shock‘ typeface being employed on the album cover.
“Soul Vibrations” would find release as a promo 7-inch on Cadet, a jazz subsidiary of Chess (its flip side “Lonely Girl” – says the 45 – is “from the Paramount film Harlow“). “Soul Vibrations” would be included on Ashby’s album Afro-Harping.
In a fascinatingly futuristic move, Ashby would nearly coin the term “Hip Hop” by accident with the release of her 1972 album, Hip Harp.
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LINK to Jazz on Zero to 180
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Bonus History!
“Miss Ashby’s Unusual ‘Rubaiyat’“
By Bob Moore Merlis
Record World – Oct. 10, 1970
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Album info = The Rubaiyat of Dorothy Ashby
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