SOWING RECORDS Archives - Guerssen Records

Soft Winds: The Swinging Harp Of Dorothy As (clear

GuerssenAdmin — Sun, 23 Mar 2025 23:00:00 +0000

Back in print ! Dorothy Ashby album from 1961 that also features female vibes player Terry Pollard. Comes with a version of The Skatalites ‘Guns of Navarone’ which is a pretty surreal listening experience. From the original liner notes: “Dorothy Ashby may not be the first jazz harpist (Caspar Reardon) or the first female jazz harpist (Adele Girard), but her good feeling for time and ability to construct melodic, guitar-like lines, mark her as the most accomplished modern jazz harpist. Accompanying her was another Detroit girl, Terry Pollard. Terry’s main instrument is the piano and she is one of the best in the country, bar none. She is also a pretty fair country vibraharpist and in this set, Miss Pollard plays vibes exclusively. With them is still another Detroiter, Herman Wright, who like Miss Pollard has worked with Terry Gibbs and Yusef Lateef, and who also served as Miss Ashby’s regular bassist. Completing the quartet is Jimmy Cobb, drummer for the Miles Davis group. During the proceedings, Cobb travels between brushes and sticks without upsetting the equilibrium of this essentially quiet set. There is wide range of material presented here, from blues like Benny Goodman’s title number, ‘Soft Winds’, and Miss Ashby’s ‘With Strings Attached’, to movie themes such as ‘Laura’, ‘Wild Is the Wind’, and ‘The Guns Of Navarone’. Then there are works by such superior writers of standards as Kurt Weill (‘My Ship’); Gershwin (‘The Man I Love’ and ‘Love Is Here To Stay’)”

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Jazz Harpist (Clear)

GuerssenAdmin — Sun, 18 Dec 2022 23:00:00 +0000

Repress. This is Dorothy Ashby’s debut album, originally released in 1957 by the Regent label. Recognized as the woman who gave the harp a Jazz Voice, here Ashby is at the head of a highly distinctive combo featuring Frank Wess on flute, Eddie Jones or Wendell Marshall on bass and master Ed Thigpen on drums. The Jazz Harpist is an unprecedented mix of evocative classic sounds and jazz soul, awarded by Allmusic as her first and best album, period!

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In A Minor Groove

GuerssenAdmin — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 22:00:00 +0000

Dorothy Ashby was the very best and most swinging performer on the multi-stringed instrument associated with the gates of heaven. Here on Earth, Ashby adeptly plucked and strummed the harp like nobody else, as evidenced on a single reissue containing her two best LPs for the Prestige and Prestige/New Jazz labels from 1958 — Hip Harp and In a Minor Groove. Alongside her prior efforts for the Savoy label, they collectively represent a small but substantive discography for the Detroit native in small group settings. With the exceptional flute sounds produced by Frank Wess, the combo plays music that is oriented via a unique sonic palate, further enhanced by the principals in the standards and originals they have chosen. Fellow Detroiter Herman Wright is here on bass, with duties split between legendary drummers Art Taylor and Roy Haynes, who place particular emphasis on subtle brushwork. Of course, the watchword of Ashby’s sound is elegance, as she and Wess weave magical threads of gold and silver through standards like the circular and pristine “Moonlight in Vermont,” the dramatic, slow “Yesterdays,” or the sad “Alone Together.” In a more Baroque or chamber setting, “Charmain” and “It’s a Minor Thing” have Wess and Ashby thinking on a regal or Grecian platform. The variety on this collection is impressive, as you hear cinematic bluesy proclamations on “Autumn in Rome,” striking mystery in “Taboo,” mischievous and sly winks during “Rascallity,” and a sexy calypso-to-swing beat as “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To” unfolds.

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Hip Harp

GuerssenAdmin — Sun, 12 Jan 2025 23:00:00 +0000

Born in Detroit in 1932 Dorothy Ashby can be easily recognized as the woman who gave the harp a Jazz voice. In her hands, the harp, an originally classical instrument which seemed to just scare people, became a highly versatile swinging voice able to drive a whole jazz rhythm section. Recorded in 1958 by master Rudy Van Gelder and originally released on the Prestige label, Hip Harp is a perfect example of Ashby’s artistry. At the head of a fine quartet featuring the great Frank Wess on flute, Herman Wright on Bass and master Art Taylor on drums, Ashby creates a unique combination of deeply Jazz elements expressed through a totally new sound.

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Samba Esquema Novo (Clear vinyl)

GuerssenAdmin — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 22:00:00 +0000

First released in 1963 on Phillips Records, this was Jorge Ben’s debut album. “Samba Esquema Novo”, which translates to ‘New Style Samba’ deliberately sets a new standard in Brazilian music. A beautiful, fresh and vital combination of Ben’s percussive guitar and smooth/rough voice backed by Big Band style horns, percussion (the great Dom Um Romao) and strings. In 2007, it was listed by Rolling Stone Brazil as one of the 100 best Brazilian albums in history, but It would be enough to remind you that this is the album containing the first original version of “Mas Que Nada’ one of the most popular songs in the world!

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Big Ben Strikes Again (Clear vinyl)

GuerssenAdmin — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 22:00:00 +0000

Jorge Ben is one of the greatest living Brazilian musicians and songwriters. “Big Ben Strikes Again”, originally released in 1967 on Phillips, includes many of his early compositions. Backed by a big orchestra Ben’s warm, emotional voice shines through a very swinging song programme. This is when Ben’s unique samba style was successfully flirting with catchy jazz arrangements. The result is a fantastic album full of exquisite, danceable songs.

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Byrd Blows On Beacon Hill (Clear)

GuerssenAdmin — Wed, 20 Nov 2024 23:00:00 +0000

This 1956 Donald Byrd’s quartet session, subsequently released in 1957 on Transition Records, sees the young trumpeter leading a Beacon Hill based rhythm section featuring bassist Doug Watkins, pianist Ray Santisi, and drummer Jim Zitano. The perfect line up for getting through a selection of classic standards such as “Stella by Starlight,” “Polka Dots and Moonbeams,” and “What’s New”. The atmosphere is easy and relaxed, and far from the hard bop / soul mood that later became Byrd’s signature. This is a higly sensitive quartet that swings lightly and without unnecessary overplaying but with just the right hint of blues to make the music highly intriguing.

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Coltrane Time (Clear Vinyl)

GuerssenAdmin — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 22:00:00 +0000

Limited Clear Vinyl edition, 500 copies! Recorded in NYC in 1958 and originally released in 1959 as “The Cecil Taylor Quintet – Hard Driving Jazz” this is in fact the only existing document of the meeting between John Coltrane and Cecil Taylor. Even if caught at an early stage in their career the two masters show great personality and deep respect for each other while trumpeter Kenny Dorham sticks more to his familiar bop idiom. Cordially backed up by Chuck Israel on bass and Louis Hayes, Coltrane swings madly on Taylor’s dissonant comping producing a rare, fascinating friction between two worlds. A must for every Coltrane maniac out there.

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Trane’s Reign (Clear Vinyl)

GuerssenAdmin — Thu, 24 Apr 2025 22:00:00 +0000

Recorded in March 1958 and released a few years later on Prestige, this album sees John Coltrane, the young and future sax giant at the head of a quartet featuring two close partners from the Miles Davis band, pianist Red Garland and bassist Paul Chambers, and Art Taylor on drums. A super-tight, powerful backing band for Coltrane’s early attempts to push the boundaries of the bop tradition. “Trane’s Reign” consists of four long tracks including Jackie McClean’s original “Little Melonae”. A perfect introduction to the early reign of John Coltrane.

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O Amor, O Sorroso E A Flor (Clear)

GuerssenAdmin — Tue, 04 May 2021 22:00:00 +0000

REPRESS
First released in Brazil in 1960 this is Joao Gilberto’s second studio effort. A seminal album that just one year later introduced Bossa Nova to the United States. Joao Gilberto, one of the true masters of the genre, displays a great selection of songs including various Tom Jobim’s classic gems such as “Samba de Uma Nota Só” (“One Note Samba”), “Corcovado” and “Outra Vez”. An essential piece of work in the whole history of Brazilian music.

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