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ASHBY
New Land are proud to present the first multi-disc box set from one of the most overlooked artists in Jazz history: Dorothy Ashby. The 6 LPs contained within this lavish box-set will give long overdue retrospection to her early works from 1957 to 1965, a period that found her represented by some of Jazz music’s most important record labels; Regent, Prestige, Jazzland, Argo and Atlantic. The Jazz Harpist, Hip Harp w/ Frank Wess, In A Minor Groove w/ Frank Wess, Soft Winds: The Swinging Harp Of Dorothy Ashby, Dorothy Ashby and The Fantastic Harp Of Dorothy Ashby have been officially licensed with the full support of the Dorothy Ashby estate.
All albums were remastered and lacquers cut by the exceptional Kevin Gray directly from the original analog tapes except The Jazz Harpist and Dorothy Ashby from which the original tapes have unfortunately been lost. Manufacturing has been handled by Pallas and all albums have been pressed on 180gm black vinyl and housed inside thick reverse-board sleeves.
At the centre of this package is a 44-page book featuring a foreword from Grammy nominated harpist Brandee Younger. Impassioned and deeply researched liner notes by Shannon J. Effinger provide historical context to Dorothy’s life, offering the most in-depth piece of writing ever committed to print on Dorothy as well as interviews with those that knew her best.
All albums were remastered and lacquers cut by the exceptional Kevin Gray directly from the original analog tapes except The Jazz Harpist and Dorothy Ashby from which the original tapes have unfortunately been lost. Manufacturing has been handled by Pallas and all albums have been pressed on 180gm black vinyl and housed inside thick reverse-board sleeves.
At the centre of this package is a 44-page book featuring a foreword from Grammy nominated harpist Brandee Younger. Impassioned and deeply researched liner notes by Shannon J. Effinger provide historical context to Dorothy’s life, offering the most in-depth piece of writing ever committed to print on Dorothy as well as interviews with those that knew her best.
Released on the Cadet label in 1970, this album’s wondrous mix of spiritual and funky jazz and unique instrumentation defy categorization. Harpist Ashby adds the koto, a 13-stringed Japanese instrument to her arsenal, and her long-time arranger Richard Evans blends flutes, vibraphone, oboe, kalimba and Ashby’s own vocals into a singular and soul-affirming set.
This Verve By Request title is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Third Man in Detroit.
This Verve By Request title is pressed on 180-gram vinyl at Third Man in Detroit.
TRACK LISTING
1. Myself When Young (Side A)
2. For Some We Loved (Side A)
3. Wax And Wane (Side A)
4. Drink (Side A)
5. Wine (Side A)
6. Dust (Side B)
7. Joyful Grass And Grape (Side B)
8. Shadow Shapes (Side B)
9. Heaven And Hell (Side B)
10. The Moving Finger (Side B)
Named after a line taken from the great Edinburgh poet Norman MacCaig’s Praise of a Man, Tommy Ashby’s stunning debut album ‘Lamplighter’ distills the idea that after someone significant enters your life, the light they pass on will spread and illuminate others. Once that light is lit, it never really goes out. The album is a sincere and touching meditation on relationships; familial and friendships, the romantic and the unspoken. Capturing snapshots of people, places and moments in time, the work beautifully illustrates the effect that a person can have on your life and reflects on how the important relationships in our lives shape us; “It depicts all the people who were lamplighters in my life”.
After swapping a one-bed flat in London for the big skies, reed beds and sunsets of rural Suffolk, Tommy found himself writing about relationships with family and friends, along with a sense of place and its significance. Recorded in a series of secluded retreats tucked away in the hidden corners of the UK, an affinity for location and nature permeates the record. You can hear the trickle of streams in the woods of the Scottish Borders, birds spinning off the sea-cliffs of Zennor in Cornwall and the misty autumn chill of days spent recording in Suffolk and Pembrokeshire. Throughout ‘Lamplighter’, Tommy reminisces over many fond childhood memories of wandering wild Scottish woodlands with his parents, his grandma’s enthusiasm for naturalist poetry and folk music or nights spent sneaking into pubs and bars to play the blues with his dad. As the album unfolds the songs muse over these memories. You get a sense that Tommy is trying to come to terms with how these personal connections have changed over the years and how they’ve come to shape him as an individual.
After swapping a one-bed flat in London for the big skies, reed beds and sunsets of rural Suffolk, Tommy found himself writing about relationships with family and friends, along with a sense of place and its significance. Recorded in a series of secluded retreats tucked away in the hidden corners of the UK, an affinity for location and nature permeates the record. You can hear the trickle of streams in the woods of the Scottish Borders, birds spinning off the sea-cliffs of Zennor in Cornwall and the misty autumn chill of days spent recording in Suffolk and Pembrokeshire. Throughout ‘Lamplighter’, Tommy reminisces over many fond childhood memories of wandering wild Scottish woodlands with his parents, his grandma’s enthusiasm for naturalist poetry and folk music or nights spent sneaking into pubs and bars to play the blues with his dad. As the album unfolds the songs muse over these memories. You get a sense that Tommy is trying to come to terms with how these personal connections have changed over the years and how they’ve come to shape him as an individual.
TRACK LISTING
1. Running
2. My Old Man
3. Moonflower (Best Friend)
4. Closer
5. When Love Goes Dark
6. Floorboards
7. Not That Far To Go
8. A Beautiful Day
9. Safe And Sound
10. Lifeline
11. Which Way The Wind Blows
12. Weigh Me Down
13. Comeback Kid
Digital Justice / Dorothy Ashby / Frantz Tuernal
Melodies Record Club #003: Hunee Selects
Melodies International
Following Ben UFO and Four Tet’s selections last year, Hunee helms volume three which includes three tracks this time including music from Digital Justice, Dorothy Ashby and Frantz Tuernal.
In his own words: “These three distinct pieces of music tap into different layers of my memory. One being part of the imagination, the other two rooted in the memories of a special morning in the woods of Houghton (and other times and places). On one side we have a beatless ecstatic piece of electronic music by Digital Justice called Theme From ‘It’s All Gone Pearshaped’. Originally released in 1994 on Rob Gretton’s (ex-manager of Joy Division and New Order) label Robs Records, Pearshaped is a 13 minute live jam from two friends messing around in a loft studio full of synths, inadvertently creating magic that can “take many shapes and forms in the hands of a DJ and the movement of a dance floor, whilst its harmonic counterpoint shines through the wildest mixes and combinations”
On the flip, we have Dorothy Ashby’s spiritual piece featuring Koto and spoken word “For Some We Loved” from her classic album “The Rubáiyát Of Dorothy Ashby” originally released in 1970 on Cadet and Frantz Tuernal’s “Koultans” originally released in 1986 by l’AMEP (Association Martiniquaise d’Enseignement Populaire) which was also a school in Martinique. “After dancing to a set from Cedric Woo at an intimate, after-closing dance party at Brilliant Corners called “Freedom Suite” which completely re-calibrated my sense of experiencing and dancing to music, I went home and immediately searched through my collection for music to listen to and potentially play with these new found sensitivities - the very physical experience of music, the pulling force pushing one into the transcendence of time and space. Dorothy Ashby’s “For Some We Loved” immediately took me back to that feeling and opened up in front of me an otherworldly-world through it’s free flowing polyrhythms and sparkling Koto playing. I have yet to play my own “Freedom Suite” night, but I hope when that moment comes, I can give back what I have received back then, and “For Some We Loved” is a first step in trying just that. I have been shown Frantz Tuernal’s privately pressed 12“containing “Koultans” by my trusted music friend Nicolas Skliris from Paris a few years ago. An unlikely piece of music (a Zouk song with flamenco-inspired guitar playing) from Martinique that was both a highlight back at Giant Steps when I played the song 3 times in a row in the early morning, and a few weeks later in the woods of Houghton where a few thousand dancers were deeply moved to its melody, when the sun came up in the morning and started descending upon the lake behind the DJ booth, bathing the smiles upon the dancers faces with its reflection.”
In his own words: “These three distinct pieces of music tap into different layers of my memory. One being part of the imagination, the other two rooted in the memories of a special morning in the woods of Houghton (and other times and places). On one side we have a beatless ecstatic piece of electronic music by Digital Justice called Theme From ‘It’s All Gone Pearshaped’. Originally released in 1994 on Rob Gretton’s (ex-manager of Joy Division and New Order) label Robs Records, Pearshaped is a 13 minute live jam from two friends messing around in a loft studio full of synths, inadvertently creating magic that can “take many shapes and forms in the hands of a DJ and the movement of a dance floor, whilst its harmonic counterpoint shines through the wildest mixes and combinations”
On the flip, we have Dorothy Ashby’s spiritual piece featuring Koto and spoken word “For Some We Loved” from her classic album “The Rubáiyát Of Dorothy Ashby” originally released in 1970 on Cadet and Frantz Tuernal’s “Koultans” originally released in 1986 by l’AMEP (Association Martiniquaise d’Enseignement Populaire) which was also a school in Martinique. “After dancing to a set from Cedric Woo at an intimate, after-closing dance party at Brilliant Corners called “Freedom Suite” which completely re-calibrated my sense of experiencing and dancing to music, I went home and immediately searched through my collection for music to listen to and potentially play with these new found sensitivities - the very physical experience of music, the pulling force pushing one into the transcendence of time and space. Dorothy Ashby’s “For Some We Loved” immediately took me back to that feeling and opened up in front of me an otherworldly-world through it’s free flowing polyrhythms and sparkling Koto playing. I have yet to play my own “Freedom Suite” night, but I hope when that moment comes, I can give back what I have received back then, and “For Some We Loved” is a first step in trying just that. I have been shown Frantz Tuernal’s privately pressed 12“containing “Koultans” by my trusted music friend Nicolas Skliris from Paris a few years ago. An unlikely piece of music (a Zouk song with flamenco-inspired guitar playing) from Martinique that was both a highlight back at Giant Steps when I played the song 3 times in a row in the early morning, and a few weeks later in the woods of Houghton where a few thousand dancers were deeply moved to its melody, when the sun came up in the morning and started descending upon the lake behind the DJ booth, bathing the smiles upon the dancers faces with its reflection.”
STAFF COMMENTS
Matt says: Hunee curates the third volume of the Floating Points-endorsed, Melodies Record Club. I'd heard of Dorothy Ashby, but the other two are new to me - championing the label's ethos of uncovering some overlooked and rare moments of musical brilliance from across the world. It's another winner make no mistake!TRACK LISTING
A1. Digital Justice–Theme From “It’s All Gone Pearshaped”
B1. Dorothy Ashby–For Some We Loved
B2. Frantz Tuernal-Koultans