Dorothy Ashby found herself at the center of the controversy in the late Fifties when she opted to adapt the harp to a jazz setting. In the eyes and ears of her detractors the ungainly instrument seemed like a blasphemous choice, possessing an inherent structure and sound that was seemingly antithetical to swing. Tracing origins back to Greco-Roman times and harboring a long association with white European orchestral and chamber music it was in actuality among the most subversive of African American musical appropriations. More importantly, in Ashby’s able hands it became a genuine jazz voice.

Bob Weinstock’s Prestige label was the first to tune in to on Ashby’s artistic promise recording a pair of albums by her quartet at Rudy Van Gelder’s Hackensack studio enclave. Both Hip Harp and In a Minor Groove were quietly innovative in terms of the favored instrumentation of flute, harp, bass and drums and each announced Ashby’s stature as a serious jazz musician of merit. These platters and nine others waxed during the Sixties form the bulk of her existing discography and are now highly prized collectors items.

While working as the principal chordal cog in the her combo the unique dynamics of Ashby’s instrument also enabled her a wealth of harmonic freedoms in the way in which she realized her role. At once delicate and luminous, her sound reflects what the possible carnal pairing of guitar and vibraphone might yield in the way of hybrid offspring. Her harmonically ornate opening on “Dancing in the Dark” from Hip Harp unveils a perfect case in point as her fingers glide gracefully along the vertical row of taut strings leaving a radiant trail of rose-tinted notes in their wake. The effect is akin to that of a malleted in marimba in terms of the amount of capacious and colorful sound created. Wess’ soufflé-light lines regularly prance above bass and drums, while Wright wrings out a bulbous resonance from his own strings that serves as a supple harmonic anchor for the group. “Pawky,” the album’s opener, takes wing on Wess’ Eastern-edged flute and Ashby’s chime-like pizzicato, which together weave a gilded latticework of melodic threads. “Moonlight in Vermont” deftly disarms auditory defenses in lush wave of nectar-sweet harmony between the lead instruments. Taylor’s brushes are barely perceptible in the wash of Ashby’s gentle, glowing chords.

Wess tapers his tone on “Back Talk” traipsing atop a tightly woven walking line from Wright and subtle stickwork by Taylor. The bassist plucks a funky break that contrasts chromatically with Ashby’s preceding own showing once again. Taylor enlivens the beat on the ballad “Charmain” with subtle syncopations and agile snare shots during several rhythmic breaks that are among his most blatantly boisterous of the date. Ashby’s baroque melodic structures mirror the gossamer commentary of Wess while everything is carried along on the solid underpinning support of Wright’s upright. Closing shop with the obscure “There’s a Small Hotel” the quartet makes a final effort at assuaging any lingering listener ailments.

The only significant downside to the date sticks out in the chosen material, most of which is arranged and deployed with the frolicsome features of the harp in mind. As a result, while the playing is commonly top-notch, the music does skirt the edges of cloying sentimentality on occasion. Ashby’s skills and imagination largely circumvent these potential problem areas, but considering the talent assembled its tempting to lament her decision to play things safe.

As its title implies the material on In A Minor Groove makes ample use of minor key themes in its featured compositions. The results make for a moodier, more complex listening experience. Proof of the shift is most evident in the way the quartet tackles “Taboo,” a favorite of Les Baxter, Arthur Lyman and other members of the Exotica jet set. A precocious wonder on this track, Haynes whips up a febrile sliding beat with stick and brush that prods Wess into his most effusive blowing of the session.

Ashby’s intricate solo on “Rascality” bridges brittle guitar-like picking with expansive shimmering strums, in the process fomenting the feeling of mischief inherent in the title. A similar show of virtuosity surfaces on the reflective “Yesterdays” where Ashby revels in the tonal versatility at her fingertips. Oscar Pettiford’s “Bohemia After Dark” is the most egalitarian of the offerings, with everyone involved having an individual stint at the soloist’s podium. Wess and Wright make most impressive of their respective allotted times, but the tune is an ensemble effort from start to finish. “It’s a Minor Thing” once again states the obvious, but the players interplay serves up subtle surprises, particularly in the give and take between Haynes and the leader.

Subsequent to her Prestige dates Ashby gravitated a funk and soul jazz direction recording extensively for the Cadet label and later turning her attentions to lucrative studio work during the Seventies. This latter phase of her career included session work for Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers and Earth, Wind & Fire. Her pair of albums for Prestige set the stage for these more commercial ventures and stand as lasting testaments to her validity as both a jazz improviser and groundbreaking musician. They also point to the futility of placing fetters on the creative process by constraining musical expression by the tenets of instrumental convention. Viable jazz has been made on everything from empty pop bottles to programmable laptop computers. The only true musical limits are the ones the musicians place upon themselves.

In A Minor Groove

Tracks: Pawky (7:00)/ Moonlight In Vermont (5:10)/ Back Talk (5:05)/ Dancing in the Dark (4:45)/ Charmain (4:00)/ Jollity (3:30)/ There’s a Small Hotel (5:45)/ Rascallity (3:51)* You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To (6:11)*/ It’s a Minor Thing (3:53)*/ Yesterdays (4:22)*/ Bohemia After Dark (6:18)*/ Taboo (3:56)*/ Autumn in Rome (5:30)*/ Alone Together (4:54)*.

Players: Dorothy Ashby- harp; Frank Wess- flute; Herman Wright- bass; Arthur Taylor- drums; Roy Haynes- drums*. Recorded: March 7, 1958 & September 19, 1958*, Hackensack, NJ.

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