Ashley Jackson’s artistry has always carried a rare kind of clarity — the sort that makes an instrument speak in full sentences. Praised for her “soulful” and “eloquent” playing by Musical America, the Decca US recording artist has built a multifaceted career as both a sought-after soloist and a generous collaborator, moving with ease between major stages, orchestral settings, and intimate cultural spaces where music becomes conversation.
As a soloist, Jackson has performed at Lincoln Center, Celebrate Brooklyn!, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, bringing the harp into rooms where its voice feels both unexpected and entirely at home. Her work with leading ensembles includes performances with the New York Philharmonic and the Qatar Philharmonic, and she is also a member of the Harlem Chamber Players — a role that reflects her commitment to community, excellence, and the ongoing evolution of classical performance.
Alongside her performance schedule, Jackson is shaping the next generation of musicians through her academic work. She currently serves as assistant professor and director of performance in the music department at Hunter College, where she teaches chamber music and harp, and leads courses including Arts in New York City and Storytelling through Performance — titles that feel less like curriculum and more like a statement of purpose.
Her musical foundation is as formidable as her presence on stage. Jackson holds a doctor of musical arts degree from the Juilliard School, a master of music degree from the Yale School of Music, and a bachelor of arts degree from Yale University, a path that speaks to both discipline and deep curiosity.
That curiosity comes into full bloom on Cover Girl, a project that celebrates the women who have fearlessly shaped the popular music landscape. With fresh arrangements and a clear sense of reverence, Jackson pays homage to artists who defied the limitations of genre — voices that expanded what music could hold, and in doing so, helped shape her own idea of what’s possible through sound.
Though purely instrumental, Cover Girl is driven by melodies that defined generations, carried by Jackson’s ability to make the harp sing with emotional precision. The EP features music associated with icons such as Nina Simone and Whitney Houston, artists who pushed popular music to new heights with both power and vulnerability. It also nods to newer voices, including Arooj Aftab, before closing with “Dreaming My Dreams,” the simple, heart-wrenching ballad by The Cranberries — a final moment that lingers like a memory you didn’t expect to feel so sharply.
If Cover Girl proves anything, it’s that tribute doesn’t have to be loud to be bold. In Jackson’s hands, these songs become something more than covers: they become portraits, rendered in strings, silence, and unmistakable feeling.
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