Dorothy Ashby; The Rubaiyat Album Review
Cadet Records; 1970 - Afro Harping, Funk and Khayyam Poetry
Nov 14, 2008
Harpists don’t appear often in the annals of popular music, and when they do their work tends to be fairly left of centre. One has only to think of how Joanna Newsom merged the ethereal sound of her instrument with fey lyricism to produce a beautifully esoteric take on Americana.
Similarly, whilst working on the legendary Cadet label, Dorothy Ashby, one of the most successful jazz harpists in history, veered heavily away from her hard bop roots to record The Rubaiyat of Dorothy Ashby, her most musically adventurous and arguably her greatest album.
To call this album jazz would be a bit of a misnomer, as it is so much more than that label suggests. True there are numerous solos, not least by Ashby, by staple jazz instruments such as vibes, flutes and saxophones, but there are more exotic and less recognisable sounds on the album such as the kalimba (African Thumb Piano) and the Japanese Koto.
The overall sound falls far from what many purists deem as jazz as the records production is given the same soul and funk treatment that gives other Cadet releases their instant universal appeal.
Dorothy Ashby and Richard Evans
Ashby had been knocking around the jazz world for a good few years until she landed on Cadet’s books. A subsidiary of the mighty Chess Records, Cadet was home to such luminaries as Marlena Shaw, Ramsey Lewis and Kenny Burell. Most of these albums were masterminded by in house producer Richard Evans. Evans may not be a household name to many, but for lovers of soul and jazz and even hip hop producers, he is a major hero. His brilliant arrangements can be heard on Marlena Shaw’s stirring funk number “California Soul” off of her classic The Spice of Life album.
Ashby had previously worked with Evans on her first two albums for Cadet, Afro Harping(68) and Dorothy’s Harp(69) carefully refashioning her sound to accommodate more popular soul and funk elements. These two albums included Ashby’s own material as well as several reworkings of the pop hits of the day and have since been a gold mine for hip-hop producers being sampled by Jay-Z, Madlib and Pete Rock.
This experimentation and new direction culminated in 1970’s The Rubaiyat, a perfect realisation of Ashby and Evan’s partnership. Also as well as being supremely soulful this album also leans toward the spiritual following the path laid out by the later work of John Coltrane and Pharaoh Saunders. All the cuts are Ashby originals and there are no weak tracks among them.
The Rubaiyat
Transposing the poetry of Omar Khayyam into a funk jazz setting was never going to be easy but the fact that nothing sounds contrived or kitsch on the album, is testament to Evans’ ability as a producer as it is to Ashby’s ability as a musician.
Opening cut “Myself When Young” begins ominously with echo laden drums and an unsettling saxophone line imitating the Arabic shawm, which give way abruptly to harp glissando’s and Dorothy’s low and soulful vocals. Suddenly the austerity and imposing strings disappear into a gentle and infectious soul jazz groove.
“For Some We Loved” begins with Ashby’s spoken word recitation of Khayyam’s poetry over rising and falling Koto scales. It’s a credit to Ashby that she can play the Koto with as much passion and subtly as she does the harp and her improvisation above the thudding tribal drums imbues the track with a brooding oriental hue.
Most of the tracks from here on in showcase a symbiosis of eastern and western sounds. The counterpoint kalimba melodies and careering strings on “Wax and Wane” give way to a flute lead jazz rhythm. “Wine” harks back to Ashby’s hard bop roots, complete with stunning piano solo (courtesy of Richard Evans?) and a storming vibes workout. “Dust” with its heavy afro-centric percussion moves lithely into a slow late night groove.
The album closes on the best track, the crate diggers favourite “The Moving Finger”. Ashby’s frightening recitation is cut through by heavy funk drums and heaving bass line. Dramatic staccato string bursts add tension, before a wigged out fuzzed up guitar solo burns through the groove. It is a fitting conclusion to an album which dares to push the boundaries of soul music.
The Rubaiyat still holds up today as Ashby’s most spiritual, soulful and beautiful album.
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