Interview: Ashley Jackson

Sanford Baran: We’re joined today by an extraordinary musical voice, harpist Ashley Jackson, whose new album takes listeners on a transformative journey. Take Me to the Water released on March 21st on the Decca Records US label blends classical works, spirituals, and original arrangements into a tapestry that honors both heritage and innovation. The album explores water as a powerful symbol of connection, of hope, and of shared humanity. Ashley, welcome and thank you for being here. 

Ashley Jackson: Thanks so much for having me, Sanford. 

Sanford Baran: Your album title, Take Me to the Water evokes such powerful imagery. What does water represent for you and how does that meaning flow through the album?

Ashley Jackson: Water is something that we all need. It sustains us, it gives us life. And as such, water is celebrated in cultures around the world and when you look more closely into those celebrations, you find that it often represents love, freedom and rebirth. So those are the themes underlying the different tracks of the album.

Sanford Baran: You include arrangements of spirituals throughout the album. How do these pieces speak to you personally and what do you hope listeners feel when they hear your interpretations? 

Ashley Jackson: For example, Take Me to the Water is one of those melodies I can’t remember exactly when I heard it, but it’s been in my musical and cultural memory for as long as I can remember. And so that feeling of nostalgia and almost like coming back home is something that I hope listeners will welcome as they listen. 

Sanford Baran: The harp has such a distinctive voice. What first drew you to it and how do you feel it helps tell the story of this album? 

Ashley Jackson: So my first instrument was actually the piano and my first piano teacher, Dr. Birdie Johnson, was captivated by my musical curiosity. And so she introduced me to her niece who was a harpist and looking for young students at the time, and neither of my parents were professional musicians. They said, “okay.” And that’s how my journey with the harp began. Growing up, I went to church and I was often reminded that harp has this spiritual history, often associated with King David, but also in different cultures it’s often represented as bearing some kind of spiritual power. And so when you tap into that global history and the purposes the harp serves, I think it really resonates with the mood and the message of this album.

Sanford Baran: As a black woman working in classical music, how has your identity shaped the stories you tell and the music you choose to share? 

Ashley Jackson: First and foremost as a mother, I’m responsible for teaching our daughter that she can always see herself in whatever it is that she wants to be. As an artist, as a musician, as a harpist, I’m always looking for ways to make sure that my culture and my history and my ancestors are represented in whatever it is that I do, because those experiences absolutely have a place in this art form.

Sanford Baran: Is your daughter showing interest in music? 

Ashley Jackson: She is, and we are excited about where it might take her. She’s exploring different instruments and singing, and we’ll see where it takes her. 

Sanford Baran: I’m fascinated by your decision to feature works by both Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Alice Coltrane. What links do you see between these two musical voices? 

Ashley Jackson: That’s a great question, Sanford, because on the one hand, you might see them as worlds apart, but I think they’re both tapping into, again, just this rich history of music making across the African diaspora. SoSamuel Coleridge-Taylor, Deep River comes from a larger collection of works that he arranged for a solo piano and they come from melodies such as African American SPIs, but also West African melodies as well as Caribbean. So he’s really telling a story about what might connect music across the African diaspora. And for Alice Coltrane, harp for her took her back to those roots. She talks about this when she sits at the harp. She is transporting herself to a time where Harp originated, which is in Africa. So they’re both making these statements about the thing you can’t quite put a name to that connects the different musical styles out of the diaspora. 

Sanford Baran: The album opens with Alice Coltrane’s Radhe-Shyam. How much of that piece is written out and how much room did you have to improvise?

Ashley Jackson: So I took and transcribed quite literally what she did on the recording. But she invites you to improvise. And so what we’re hearing on the final version on this album is a result of me improvising and trying to just bring my own voice and strengths to what Alice has so graciously already given us.

Sanford Baran: You feature both solo harp pieces and works with orchestra. Do you enjoy moving between those worlds? 

Ashley Jackson: When I think about why I decided to focus on harp, really when I was younger in high school, was because I loved playing in an orchestra. I love that feeling of being surrounded by sound. So it’s always a treat to have that presence of additional musicians with me. 

Sanford Baran: Danse sacree et danse profane, L. 103 is a cornerstone of the harp repertoire. What new perspective did you bring to your interpretation? 

Ashley Jackson: Because of where it’s situated on the album, and just hearing the connections between the Debussy and the Yemaya chant, which opens up interpretive possibilities that allow me to be a little bit freer, especially in that very famous opening with the harp solo. And so that’s why I wanted to stay in that slightly freer space. And a piece that is so codified right in our repertoire. 

Sanford Baran: One piece I’m especially eager to hear is Yemaya. Can you tell us more about its meaning and how you brought it to life on the album? 

Ashley Jackson: So Yemaya is a West African goddess of freshwater and she is celebrated again throughout the diaspora and in those celebrations there’s often music. And so I reference an Afro Cuban chant about her, and that’s the melody that we hear. On the first one I am joined by the Harlem Chamber players, and in that version, I superimposed that melody on top of the ending of a contemporary harp piece by Joel Luis, and in the second Yemaya, that’s for harp solo. 

Sanford Baran: Could you walk us through your process when arranging music not originally written for harp? 

Ashley Jackson: For example Troubled Water by Margaret Bonds is a very difficult piece for pianos and it covers a lot of range. My process in transcribing that for harp took a long time. So first, patience and a lot of trial and error just to try things. I performed the piece in public several times and I got a sense of what worked and what didn’t in those early performances. Recording myself constantly and also just understanding that I’m not necessarily glued to what Bonds wrote, that there has to be some level of flexibility in order for the music to come through on my instrument.

Sanford Baran: The harp feels like it’s always sustaining notes seem to linger in the air. How do you approach shaping sound and managing resonance? 

Ashley Jackson: That’s the beauty of it. If you think about it, if you can pluck a string and after you’ve plucked it, your instrument is still making music, that’s incredible. So allowing the sound to naturally decay longer than you might on other instruments, I think is what in part gives the harp its transformative power. So I like to first look at it as a gift and not something that limits us. But, we make choices about what to let ring and what not to. 

Sanford Baran: Your albums always feel so thoughtfully structured. How do you weave a narrative or emotional arc across such a wide range of pieces?

Ashley Jackson: I like to look for unexpected connections between music, different styles of music, and music despite coming from different cultures and different places, we do all know what it feels to experience joy and love and hope. And so that allows me to create through lines, through different types of music. I’m looking for some sort of consistent emotional content. So it’s just a lot of listening. It’s a lot of keeping my ears and heart open to, really just how music makes us feel. That’s what it’s about. 

Sanford Baran: What emotional journey do you hope listeners experience when they spend time with Take Me to the Water. 

Ashley Jackson: I hope my listeners will feel comfort. I hope they will feel a sense of hope and possibilities. Just having greater empathy and leaning into our shared humanity between us. 

Sanford Baran: Looking to the future, how do you see your work shaping the world of harp music and classical music more broadly?

Ashley Jackson: I think at the very least I encourage harpists and musicians to really value and understand the power of their own unique experiences and that they all have a place in what we’re calling classical music, because it absolutely does. And that’s where the opportunities for connections really begin to open up and you can bring yourself and who you are to what you do.

Sanford Baran: We’ve been speaking with Harpist Ashley Jackson about her beautiful new album. Take Me to the Water, released on March 21st on the Decca Records US label. To experience Ashley’s work and see where she’s performing next visit ashleyjacksonharp.com. Ashley, thank you so much for joining us. 

Ashley Jackson: Thank you for having me, Sanford. It’s been a real treat. 

Sanford Baran: This is Sanford Baran for KGNU.