An Ongoing Attempt To List Every Record & CD That Dorothy Ashby Appeared On

Dorothy Ashby is one of the most well known harpists ever and her talents have been used on a hefty number of records. Christopher Chatman of Beyond Records has taken it upon himself to list every one.

There are at least three important harpists you should know about: Brandee Younger, Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby. Brandee is the newest name of the group, channelling the technique and finesse of her predecessors. Alice Coltrane’s harp lent itself to the cosmic reachings of jazz but it was Dorothy Ashby who made the harp less of a niche solo instrument and more of a unique melodic accompaniment and this was harnessed by many popular musicians. So many in fact, that Christopher Chatman of Beyond Records decided to compile a list chronicling every record Ashby featured on. The list so far stands at 91 and while I own some of them myself, I didn’t expect to see others (like Rick James’ second album, Bustin’ Out of L Seven).

See the whole list on Flickr.