Dorothy Ashby - Plays for Beautiful People [Spain Import]

Dorothy Ashby Plays for Beautiful People showcases the Detroit harpist in an elegant 1958 quartet session, presented here as a limited 180 gram Spanish import with a bonus track.

Ashby did something few thought possible, turning the concert harp into a genuine improvising jazz voice rather than a novelty or a backdrop for strings. This session, first issued as In a Minor Groove and later repackaged under its current title, was recorded at Rudy Van Gelder's studio in Hackensack with flautist Frank Wess, bassist Herman Wright and drummer Roy Haynes.

The pairing of harp and flute is pure silk. On "You'd Be So Nice to Come Home To" the two weave around each other with swinging ease, while Oscar Pettiford's "Bohemia After Dark" shows how hard Ashby could drive a bebop line. "Autumn in Rome" slows to a gentle, glowing reverie, and Haynes keeps everything light on its feet.

This edition adds "Moonlight in Vermont" as a bonus, a fitting late-night extension of the album's mood.

Hip-hop producers have long mined Ashby's records for their dreamy textures, but hearing her in this intimate setting is the real reward. It's graceful, inventive jazz from a true pioneer, and it sounds as fresh now as it did on the day it was cut.