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Jazz Articles about Brandee Younger
James Moody, Jamie Shew, Billy Mohler & Brandee Younger
by Joe Dimino
Welcome to the 906th electrifying edition of Neon Jazz! We kick things off with the mesmerizing harpist Brandee Younger and the title track from her much-anticipated 2025 album Gadabout Season. From there, we dive into a powerful new release from the legendary Count Basie Orchestra featuring the dynamic Deborah Silver--a fitting tribute to their unforgettable International Jazz Day performance in Kansas City. But the grooves don't stop there. We showcase fresh, genre- pushing sounds from rising and seasoned talents like ...
Continue ReadingWinter Jazzfest 2025: The Once and Future Music
by Adam Beaudoin
Winter JazzfestNew York, NYJanuary 9-15, 2025 Impressions of A Love Supreme We are standing in a line outside the venue, waiting in the January chill to listen to nearly two dozen musicians perform and pay tribute to John Coltrane's A Love Supreme, 60 years to the month after its release. People on the line are catching up, are meeting for the first time, are talking about this music we love. One heard the Sun Ra ...
Continue ReadingShabaka Hutchings: Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace
by Chris May
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes ... Since signing with with Impulse! in 2018, Shabaka Hutchings has become best known for his incendiary work on tenor saxophone with Sons Of Kemet, The Comet Is Coming and Shabaka & The Ancestors. Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace marks the start of a gentler, more instrospective phase in his music making. The trigger came during the pandemic, when Hutchings fell in love with the Japanese shakuhachi flute. The quietly spoken instrument first edged itself ...
Continue ReadingBrandee Younger: I'm Done Running From The Harp Police
by Leo Sidran
When it comes to instruments that are not easily designed for improvising soloists, there is perhaps none more difficult to handle than the harp. And when it comes to contemporary jazz harpists, there is perhaps none more influential in this moment than Brandee Younger. From the very beginning, as a young music student growing up on Long Island, Brandee Younger was toeing the line between her classical, orchestral musical education and the hiphop, soul and pop music that ...
Continue ReadingBrandee Younger Trio at Jazz Alley
by Paul Rauch
Brandee Younger Trio Jazz Alley Seattle, WA June 6, 2023 The community of innovative and groundbreaking harpists is a small one. All of these visionaries have taken the large, but delicate instrument out of the context of European classical music, and ventured into a variety of genres, most notably, post-bop jazz. The entirety of the post- bop lineage can be traced back to Detroit harpist Dorothy Ashby, a fine singer and composer as well. ...
Continue ReadingBrandee Younger at Dazzle
by Geoff Anderson
Brandee Younger Dazzle Denver, Colorado June 4, 2023 The harp is far from a common jazz instrument and the list of famous jazz harpists is a short one. In fact, the list of significant jazz harpists probably numbers about two: Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby. There have been a few others here and there, but none that had the impact of those two. But wait, there's a new contender on the scene: Brandee ...
Continue ReadingBrandee Younger: Brand New Life
by La-Faithia White
American harpist and composer Brandee Younger fuses hip hop, classical, funk and jazz on Brand New Life. Younger became a Grammy award nominee for her label debut. Brand New Life features new works inspired by her hero, harpist Dorothy Ashby. “You're A Girl For One Man Only" written by Younger and Ashby, has reinterpretations of Dorothy Ashby; a beautiful, meditative love song and nice collaboration with the vibraphone; a smooth introduction with Younger and drum snares. “Brand New ...
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