Harpist Ashley Jackson Signs To Decca Records US
The announcement comes with news that the acclaimed harp player and professor will release her label debut, ‘Take Me To the Water.’
Award-winning harpist Ashley Jackson has signed to Decca Records US. Alongside the news comes the announcement of her label debut album, Take Me to the Water. The record is out March 21 and is available for pre-order now.
On Take Me to the Water, the acclaimed harpist interprets work by Margaret Bonds, Alice Coltrane, Claude Debussy, and Samuel Coleridge-Taylor while exploring the transformative power of water. “Water is celebrated in lots of different cultures, but, despite that, you find recurring themes in those celebrations,” Jackson said in a statement. “So I wanted to hone in on those ideas—ideals—such as love and rebirth and hope.”
Take Me to the Water connects cultural histories, spiritual reflection, and ideas of renewal and freedom. One highlight is an interpretation of Debussy’s “Danse Sacrée.” The album’s lead singles, “Deep River Pt. 1” and “Deep River Pt. 2,” are out now. Both are renditions of spirituals adapted by the composer Coleridge-Taylor in 1905.
“In playing ‘Deep River,’ I’m transported to a place where I can access that kind of cultural memory,” Jackson says. “Just imagining my ancestors singing that, and what the words would have meant. So as to tell their oppressors that they’re singing about one thing, but really, they’re communicating something else. Tapping into that ingenuity is so humbling.”
A soloist, writer, performer, and professor, Jackson has established herself as a visionary voice in and beyond classical music. Her harp playing contains deep emotional resonance and suggests limitless possibilities for the instrument and player alike. In 2023, Jackson performed Take Me To the Water at Lincoln Center.
Also in 2023, Jackson released her debut solo album, Ennanga. The record features harp transcriptions of works by Samual Coleridge-Taylor and Alice Coltrane, as well as original compositions by William Grant Still and Brandee Younger.
Order Ashley Jackson’s Take Me to the Water now.
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