Harold Ashby (March 27, 1925, in Kansas City, Missouri, United States – June 13, 2003, in New York City)^[1] was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He worked with Duke Ellington's band, replacing Jimmy Hamilton in 1968.^[2] In 1959, he recorded backing Willie Dixon on the latter's first album, Willie's Blues.^[3]

After leaving the Duke Ellington Orchestra in 1975, Ashby worked as a freelance musician and took part in various reunions of Ellington alumni, as well as recording and gigging with his own bands.^[4]

Ashby suffered a heart attack in May 2003, and was hospitalized before dying at the age of 78, on June 13 that year.^[1]

Discography

As leader

• Born to Swing: Introducing The Compulsive Tenor Saxophone of Harold Ashby (Columbia, 1960)
• Tenor Stuff with Paul Gonsalves (Metronome, 1961)
• Scufflin' (Black and Blue, 1978)
• Presenting Harold Ashby (Progressive, 1981)
• I'm Old Fashioned (Stash, 1991)
• What Am I Here For? with Mulgrew Miller, Rufus Reid, Ben Riley (Criss Cross, 1992)
• On the Sunny Side of the Street (Timeless, 1992)
• Out of Nowhere with Wild Bill Davis (Black and Blue, 1993)
• Just for You (Mapleshade)

As sideman

• Eugenie Baird, Eugenie Baird Sings, Duke's Boys Play Ellington (Stereo Spectrum, Design 1959)
• Lawrence Brown, Inspired Abandon (Impulse!, 1965)
• Benny Golson, Tenor Legacy (Arkadia Jazz, 1998)
• Scott Hamilton, Skyscrapers (Concord Jazz, 1980)
• Earl Hines, Once Upon a Time (Impulse!, 1966)
• Milt Hinton, Laughing at Life (Columbia, 1994)
• Butch Miles, Butch's Encore (Famous Door, 1979)
• Otis Rush, This One's a Good 'Un (Blue Horizon, 1969)
• Bennie Wallace, The Art of the Saxophone (Denon, 1987)
• Ben Webster, The Soul of Ben Webster (Verve, 1960)

References

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