The Jazz Harpist
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The Jazz Harpist
''The Jazz Harpist'' is the debut studio album by American jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby released in 1957 by the Regent label. Reception Allmusic reviewed the album awarding it 4½ stars stating "Her first, and best, album has Frank Wess on flute".Nastos, M. GAllmusic Reviewaccessed May 13, 2013 A reviewer of Dusty Groove wrote 'Jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby has always had one of the most unusual sounds around – and even though it might sound a bit crazy at first, her mix of harp playing with tight jazzy backing is always a winning combination. This early album has Ms Ashby playing with a groovy little combo that includes Frank Wess on flute, Ed Thigpen on drums, and Wendell Marshall on bass. Even at this early age, Dorothy shows her writing skills well with the originals "Aeolian Groove, "Lamentation", and "Spicy" – and she does a nice job with the other standards she chooses to cover. A nice record, with a soulful sound that you wouldn't expect!" Track listing ''All composit ...
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Dorothy Ashby
Dorothy Jeanne Thompson (August 6, 1932 – April 13, 1986), better known as Dorothy Ashby, was an American jazz harpist, singer and composer. Hailed as one of the most "unjustly under loved jazz greats of the 1950s" and the "most accomplished modern jazz harpist," Ashby established the harp as an improvising jazz instrument, beyond earlier use as a novelty or background orchestral instrument, proving the harp could play bebop as adeptly as the instruments commonly associated with jazz, such as the saxophone or piano. Ashby had to overcome many obstacles during the pursuit of her career. As an African American female musician in a male dominated industry, she was at a disadvantage. In a 1983 interview with W. Royal Stokes for his book ''Living the Jazz Life,'' she remarked of her career, "It's been maybe a triple burden in that not a lot of women are becoming known as jazz players. There is also the connection with black women. The audiences I was trying to reach were not inte ...
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Dancing On The Ceiling (song)
"Dancing on the Ceiling" is a 1930 popular song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart for the 1930 London musical ''Ever Green'' when it was sung by Jessie Matthews. It was originally part of the musical '' Simple Simon'', but it was cut from the production before the premiere. In the film of ''Evergreen'' (1934), "Dancing on the Ceiling" was again sung by Jessie Matthews. An early popular recording in the USA in 1932 was by the British Jack Hylton and His Orchestra (with vocal by Pat O'Malley). The song was identified correctly for a $100,000 grand prize on the game show ''Name That Tune'' in 1977. Recordings * Frank Sinatra - ''In the Wee Small Hours'' (1955) *Jo Stafford - '' A Gal Named Jo'' Columbia CL 2591 (1955) *Ella Fitzgerald - ''Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Rodgers & Hart Songbook'' (1956) *George Shearing - ''Velvet Carpet'' (1956) (instrumental arrangement by Dennis Farnon) * Chet Baker - '' (Chet Baker Sings) It Could Happen to You'' (1958) *Barb ...
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1957 Albums
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year of the 1950s decade. Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be dismissed for having ''handled the ball'', in Test cricket. * January 9 – British Prime Minister Anthony Eden resigns. * January 10 – Harold Macmillan becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. * January 11 – The African Convention is founded in Dakar. * January 14 – Kripalu Maharaj is named fifth Jagadguru (world teacher), after giving seven days of speeches before 500 Hindu scholars. * January 15 – The film '' Throne of Blood'', Akira Kurosawa's reworking of ''Macbeth'', is ...
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Dorothy Ashby Albums
Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Characters *Dorothy Gale, protagonist of ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum * Ace (''Doctor Who'') or Dorothy, a character played by Sophie Aldred in ''Doctor Who'' *Dorothy, a goldfish on ''Sesame Street'' owned by Elmo *Dorothy the Dinosaur, a costumed green dinosaur who appears with ''The Wiggles'' * Dorothy (''MÄR''), a main character in ''MÄR'' *Dorothy Baxter, a main character on ''Hazel'' *Dorothy "Dottie" Turner, main character of '' Servant'' *Dorothy Michaels, Dustin Hoffman's character the movie ''Tootsie'' Film and television * ''Dorothy'' (TV series), 1979 American TV series *Dorothy Mills, a 2008 French movie, sometimes titled simply ''Dorothy'' *DOROTHY, a device used to study tornadoes in the movie ''Twister'' Music *Dorothy (band), a Los Angeles-based rock band *Dorothy, the title of an Old English dance and folk song by Seymour Smith *"D ...
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Rudy Van Gelder
Rudolph Van Gelder (November 2, 1924 – August 25, 2016) was an American recording engineer who specialized in jazz. Over more than half a century, he recorded several thousand sessions, with musicians including John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Sonny Rollins, Art Blakey, Lee Morgan, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Wayne Shorter, Horace Silver, Herbie Hancock and Grant Green. He worked with many different record companies, and recorded almost every session on Blue Note Records from 1953 to 1967. He worked on albums including John Coltrane's ''A Love Supreme'', Miles Davis's ''Walkin''', Herbie Hancock's '' Maiden Voyage'', Sonny Rollins's ''Saxophone Colossus'', and Horace Silver's ''Song for My Father''. He is regarded as one of the most influential engineers in jazz. Early life Van Gelder was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. His parents, Louis Van Gelder and the former Sarah Cohen, ran a women's clothing store in Passaic. His interest in microphones and electronics ca ...
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Drum Kit
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player ( drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks, one in each hand, and uses their feet to operate a foot-controlled hi-hat and bass drum pedal. A standard kit may contain: * A snare drum, mounted on a stand * A bass drum, played with a beater moved by a foot-operated pedal * One or more tom-toms, including rack toms and/or floor toms * One or more cymbals, including a ride cymbal and crash cymbal * Hi-hat cymbals, a pair of cymbals that can be manipulated by a foot-operated pedal The drum kit is a part of the standard rhythm section and is used in many types of popular and traditional music styles, ranging from rock and pop to blues and jazz. __TOC__ History Early development Before the development of the drum set, drums and cymbals used in military and orchestral m ...
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Ed Thigpen
Edmund Leonard Thigpen (December 28, 1930 – January 13, 2010) was an American jazz drummer, best known for his work with the Oscar Peterson trio from 1959 to 1965. Thigpen also performed with the Billy Taylor trio from 1956 to 1959. Biography Born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, Thigpen was raised in Los Angeles, California, and attended Thomas Jefferson High School, where Art Farmer, Dexter Gordon and Chico Hamilton also attended. After majoring in sociology at Los Angeles City College, Thigpen returned to East St. Louis for one year to pursue music while living with his father who had been playing with Andy Kirk's Clouds of Joy. His father, Ben Thigpen, was a drummer who played with Andy Kirk for sixteen years during the 1930s and 1940s. Thigpen first worked professionally in New York City with the Cootie Williams orchestra from 1951 to 1952 at the Savoy Ballroom. During this time he played with musicians such as Dinah Washington, Gil Mellé, Oscar Pettiford, Eddie V ...
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Double Bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar in structure to the cello, it has four, although occasionally five, strings. The bass is a standard member of the orchestra's string section, along with violins, viola, and cello, ''The Orchestra: A User's Manual''
, Andrew Hugill with the Philharmonia Orchestra
as well as the concert band, and is featured in Double bass concerto, concertos, solo, and chamber music in European classical music, Western classical music.Alfred Planyavsky

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Wendell Marshall
Wendell Marshall (October 24, 1920 – February 6, 2002) was an American jazz double-bassist. Marshall was Jimmy Blanton's cousin. He studied at Lincoln University, then served in the Army during World War II. Following his discharge, he performed with Stuff Smith, then relocated to New York City, where he worked with Mercer Ellington. From 1948 to 1955, he performed with Duke Ellington. Following his time with Ellington, Marshall joined pit orchestras on Broadway and freelanced with Mary Lou Williams, Art Blakey, Donald Byrd, Milt Jackson, and Hank Jones among others. He retired in 1968, and died of colon cancer in St. Louis, aged 81. Discography With Gene Ammons *'' Twisting the Jug'' (Prestige, 1961) – with Joe Newman and Jack McDuff *'' Soul Summit Vol. 2'' (Prestige, 1961 962 *''Late Hour Special'' (Prestige, 1961 964 *''Velvet Soul'' (Prestige, 1961-62 964 *'' Angel Eyes'' (Prestige, 1962 965 *''Sock!'' (Prestige, 1962 965 With Dorothy Ashby *''The Jazz Ha ...
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Eddie Jones (jazz Musician)
Eddie Jones (March 1, 1929, Greenwood, Mississippi – May 31, 1997, West Hartford, Connecticut) was an American jazz double bassist. Jones grew up in Red Bank, New Jersey, and played early in the 1950s with Sarah Vaughan and Lester Young. Jones taught music in South Carolina from 1951 to 1952, and became a member of Count Basie's orchestra in 1953, remaining there until 1962. He recorded frequently with this ensemble, and also played with Basie in smaller ensembles; these featured both Basie sidemen ( Joe Newman, Frank Foster, Frank Wess, Thad Jones, Ernie Wilkins) and others (Milt Jackson, Coleman Hawkins, Putte Wickman). Jones quit music in 1962 and took a job with IBM; he later became vice president of an insurance company. In the 1980s he returned to jazz and played on and off in swing jazz ensembles. Discography With Dorothy Ashby *''The Jazz Harpist'' (Regent, 1957) With Count Basie *''Dance Session'' (Clef, 1953) *'' Dance Session Album #2'' (Clef, 1954) *'' Basie'' (Cl ...
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Flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening. According to the instrument classification of Hornbostel–Sachs, flutes are categorized as edge-blown aerophones. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist or flutist. Flutes are the earliest known identifiable musical instruments, as paleolithic examples with hand-bored holes have been found. A number of flutes dating to about 53,000 to 45,000 years ago have been found in the Swabian Jura region of present-day Germany. These flutes demonstrate that a developed musical tradition existed from the earliest period of modern human presence in Europe.. Citation on p. 248. * While the oldest flutes currently known were found in Europe, Asia, too, has ...
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Frank Wess
Frank Wellington Wess (January 4, 1922 – October 30, 2013) was an American jazz saxophonist and flutist. In addition to his extensive solo work, Wess is remembered for his time in Count Basie's band from the early 1950s into the 1960s. Critic Scott Yanow described him as one of the premier proteges of Lester Young, and a leading jazz flutist of his era—using the latter instrument to bring new colors to Basie's music. Biography Wess was born in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, the son of a principal father and a schoolteacher mother. He began with classical music training and played in Oklahoma in high school. He later switched to jazz on moving to Washington, D.C. and by nineteen was working with big bands. His career was interrupted by World War II although he did play with a military band in the period. After leaving the military, he joined Billy Eckstine's orchestra. He returned to Washington D.C. a few years afterwards and received a degree in flute at the city's Mod ...
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