Expected release 18/10/24

A BONA FIDE ‘CULT’ CLASSIC, AFRO-HARPING IS THE FIRST OF A RAREFIED AND OUTSTANDING TRILOGY OF SOUL-JAZZ ALBUMS BY DOROTHY ASHBY THAT WERE PRODUCED FOR CADET RECORDS (CHESS) BY RICHARD EVANS BETWEEN 1968 AND 1970.
Remastered from the original ¼ inch tapes by Alex Wharton at Abbey Road Studios, Afro-Harping is filled front-to-back with sumptuous and hypnotic grooves. Its African percussion, soulful orchestrations, in-the-pocket rhythms and Dorothy’s virtuosity take it far beyond jazzy mood music and made it a favourite of beat heads and producers; sampled by Pete Rock, Kendrick Lamar, Jay Dee (aka J Dilla), Madlib, Flying Lotus and many others.
This deluxe version features eight bonus tracks, alternate takes from the surviving four-track session reels that are arguably superior to those on the album, including an explosive rendition of the single, ‘Soul Vibrations’, extended versions of its title track and ‘Little Sunflower’ and two fantastic jazzy readings of ‘Theme from Valley of the Dolls’.

Additional flavour is provided by some of the in-studio ‘atmosphere’ that accompanies the bonus cuts. The session reels also featured the voices of Dorothy, Evans and others: encouragement, laughter, a brief burst of beatboxing and a mild disagreement over how many bars had been played, for example. In many cases these elements have been left where they were found, the better to experience the sheer joy of being in the room with Dorothy and some of the Chicago’s finest musicians in the winter of ’68.

2LP
Side 1
1 SOUL VIBRATIONS
2 GAMES
3 ACTION LINE
4 LONELY GIRL
5 LIFE HAS ITS TRIALS
Side 2
1 AFRO-HARPING
1
2 LITTLE SUNFLOWER
3 THEME FROM VALLEY OF THE DOLLS
4 COME LIVE WITH ME
5 THE LOOK OF LOVE
1
Side 3
1 ACTION LINE MASTER A, TAKE 2
2 AFRO-HARPING ALT. TAKE
3 THEME FROM VALLEY OF THE DOLLS MASTER B, TAKE 2
4 LONELY GIRL MASTER G, TAKE 1
Side 4
1 SOUL VIBRATIONS ALT. TAKE
2 LIFE HAS ITS TRIALS MASTER C, TAKE 2
3 LITTLE SUNFLOWER MASTER F, TAKE 3
4 THEME FROM VALLEY OF THE DOLLS MASTER B, TAKE 6