◇ image via WikipediaDorothy Ashby
Dorothy Ashby is an act on the Starverb influence map. Their sound grew out of Donald Byrd, Gerald Wilson, Kenny Burrell and Alice Coltrane. Those roots explain a lot about how Dorothy Ashby arrange songs and choose their tones. They run in the same orbit as Mulatu Astatke, Weldon Irvine, Idris Muhammad, Lonnie Liston Smith and David Axelrod, sharing audiences, venues and reference points rather than a straight line of influence. Their influence carried into JAY-Z, Drake, Madlib, J Dilla and Mac Miller, where the same ideas turn up rearranged for a later generation. Altogether the chart holds 24 connections around Dorothy Ashby, reaching back through Donald Byrd and forward to JAY-Z. Follow any of those threads to keep travelling the influence between bands and genres on Starverb.
Background
Dorothy Jeanne Thompson, 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.
Hover or focus a star to read the connection. Click any star to make it the new centre.
Dorothy Ashby connections
Dorothy Ashby grew out of Donald Byrd, Gerald Wilson, Kenny Burrell and Alice Coltrane, shares an orbit with Mulatu Astatke, Weldon Irvine, Idris Muhammad and Lonnie Liston Smith, went on to shape JAY-Z, Drake, Madlib and J Dilla. 24 connections mapped across roots, kindred and legacy.
Who influenced Dorothy Ashby
Sounds and acts that shaped Dorothy Ashby.
Artists similar to Dorothy Ashby
Artists and scenes sharing an orbit with Dorothy Ashby.
Bands Dorothy Ashby shaped
Where the influence of Dorothy Ashby travelled next.
Ideas. Vote for what you want to see next
Shapes the roadmapMusic Personality
Your taste as a shareable persona card, with a witty roast.
Quizzes & badges
Music quizzes that earn badges and climb a leaderboard.
Friend / taste matching
Match your taste with friends and see your overlap.
Gaps
Bands you've missed that listeners with similar taste already love.