Harp

Brandee Younger

(1983–)

Brandee Younger (b. 1983) — Harp. Led Somewhere Different. Worked with Shabaka Hutchings, Nubya Garcia, Joel Ross.

A jazz harpist working in the 21st century. Carries forward the lineage of Dorothy Ashby with contemporary playing.

Brandee Younger's videos

2023, a Black Music Month Tiny Desk. Harpist Brandee YoungerBrandee Youngerブランディー・ヤンガー plays from 'Brand New Life' and 'Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing' — extending the lineage of Dorothy Ashby and Alice John ColtraneJohn Coltraneジョン・コルトレーン into the present.

— NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert, 2023

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Videos featuring Brandee Younger

Brandee YoungerBrandee Youngerブランディー・ヤンガー's Brand New Life began from unreleased material left by Dorothy Ashby. In JazzTimes she said she rearranged some of the charts handed to her by Ashby's daughter for a full band, aiming to redefine the harp as a central jazz instrument.

— Talking Harp With Brandee Younger, JazzTimes, 2023

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In 2023 Brandee Younger released Brand New Life on Impulse!, a tribute to Dorothy Ashby featuring Pete Rock and 9th Wonder that extended Ashby's legacy of pulling the harp into the foreground of popular music.

— Jazz Harpist Brandee Younger on 'Brand New Life,' Dorothy Ashby, and Embracing Her Own Sound, KEXP, 2023

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Brandee Younger's albums

Black to the Future

Shabaka Hutchings · 2021

Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace

Shabaka Hutchings · 2024

Universal Beings

Makaya McCraven · 2018

Somewhere Different

Brandee Younger · 2021

Drummer Tom Skinner shared the session on Shabaka Hutchings' Black to the Future (2021) with harpist Brandee Younger. Around the same time he was also behind the kit in The Smile, the rock trio built by two members of Radiohead — one drummer linking deep jazz to art-rock's biggest name.

Brandee Younger's albums