Dorothy Ashby

Dorothy Ashby (1932-1986) was an American jazz harpist from Detroit who also played piano and koto. Active from the late 1950s, she used the harp as an improvising instrument in a bebop setting, next to flute, bass and drums. She is known for her records on Prestige, Argo, Atlantic and Cadet, above all Afro-Harping (1968) and The Rubaiyat of Dorothy Ashby (1970), whose sound was later sampled widely in hip-hop. Dorothy Ashby was born Dorothy Jeanne Thompson and studied at Cass Technical High School and Wayne State University.