out on Verve Records' LP Reproduction Series

Two names: Dorothy Ashby and Richard Evans.

She: one of the very, very few Jazz harpists ever in existence to start with. Not only that, she also managed to fuse groove into one of the most terribly uncool of musical instruments, but also one of the most ethereal, beautiful and lyrical instruments without a doubt. Her efforts to make people pay attention to the much disclaimed instrument paid off in 1952 when she was awarded the downbeat International Jazz Critics Award that year. Despite of the lack of popularity of the instrument, she has had ample experience in the mainstream - crossover work with Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers and Earth, Wind and Fire in the 1970s attest greatly to that point.

He: A bass player, but also an arranger. Evans is widely known as the bassist for guitarist Phil Upchurch, a prolific guitarist who was a prominent figure in Chicago music circles since the mid 1950s playing Blues, Soul, R&B, and Jazz. This man has also worked with other Jazz legends such as Woody Herman, Eddie Harris, Kenny Burrell and Stan Getz.

They: Dorothy Ashby's Afro-Harping is the result. Produced and arranged by Richard Evans, this album is testament to the fact that no matter what instrument one plays, put people who know exactly what they're doing together and you get a work of art. In 1968, these 2 put together a fine mixture of Funk, Soul and Jazz in what was then (and more so now) an environment being taken over by electronic sounds. Afro-Harping was the first of three albums for the Cadet label.

The beginning track is "Soul Vibrations", somewhat of a single for her back then. If the opening track is any signal of how the rest of an album is going to turn out, they couldn't have chosen a better opener. A funky backbeat layered with flutes and harp. A nice pulsating rhythm that can easily find mass appeal, but at the same time little nuances that make the track continuously interesting to listen to. And of course, since the harp is such a unique instrument and hardly heard in any "modern" context, hearing the strings never fails to set this track (and every other, for that matter) apart from everyone else. Lush.

I don't feel like to talking about the rest of the tracks. I might spoil it.

Two names, one word: Beautiful. In every damn sense.

-Kaye / danceandsoul.com

Tracklist

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