Hip Harp / On A Minor Groove

Doxy brings together two 1958 releases from legendary jazz harpist and multi-instrumentalist Dorothy Ashby, Hip Harp and In A Minor Groove, in one essential reissue. Both albums feature Frank Wess, and together they capture just how distinctive Ashby’s voice was within late-50s jazz.

Dorothy Ashby had a truly singular soul jazz sound. The harp might be more commonly associated with lullabies, but in her hands it swings with real ease and warmth. There’s a soulful depth to her playing too, with a feel that reaches back toward the traditions of African stringed instruments.

She was part of the same scene as Yusef Lateef, and like Lateef, she had a gift for taking unusual instrumentation and placing it in fresh settings to create something genuinely original. These recordings are a brilliant reminder of how inventive and quietly radical her music was.