Brandee Younger at the Music Center at Strathmore

Brandee Younger
Music Center at Strathmore
North Bethesda, MD
June 11, 2026

Cecile McLorin Salvant's return to this North Bethesda citadel of great music was a much-anticipated DC jazz event, especially since the demise of the Kennedy Center's esteemed program. It turns out the most memorable part of the gig for jazz lovers was not the acclaimed chanteuse's set—more on that below—but the well- crafted forty or so minutes delivered by jazz harpist Brandee Younger. Building on the tradition of great harpist like Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby, Younger brought a vital, vibrant energy to her opening act, setting the stage for a new generation of jazz harpists.

Of course, Younger's impressive body of work precedes her. The first Black woman to be nominated for a Grammy for best instrumental composition, Younger won an NAACP Image Award for her 2024 album "Brand New Life."  Working across genres with musical partners from Common and Lauryn Hill to John Legend and Christian McBride, she has charted new horizons on the harp, while respecting the legacy and traditions of her centuries old instrument.

Younger and sidemen Rashann Carter on bass and Allan Mednard on drums kicked off her opening set with the playful "BBL," dancing across the strings while Mednard raced to keep up, first on brushes, later on sticks. Carter joined in a hypnotic counterpoint with drums and harp, driving sometimes and laying back on others in a soundscape that brought to mind a lovely rain shower on a sunny day.

Next, Younger called up a composition inspired by her pandemic experience, starting off slowly on her own, then joined by Carter for a low, ascending growl into the tune's head arrangement, offering luminous clarion chords against a racing, echoing bass line, the melody delicately meandering into a bebop feel. Following that, Younger offered to "lower our heart rates" with a Coltrane (Alice) ballad, "Turiya and Ramakrishna," from the album "Ptah the El Daoud," recorded with Ron Carter in the Coltrane's Long Island home (Younger covering the piece on Coltrane's original, refurbished instrument). Harp, bass and some somber brushwork from Mednard brought the crowd to the promised meditative state.

Younger paid homage to Coltrane on "End Means," with Carter moving over to electric bass to accompany the harpist's haunting plinks, sounding like the pleas of an unholy wraith. After a rumbling bass feedback, Mednard joined the proceedings, adding playful back-and-forth drums that had an almost martial feel with the harp glissing over the measures. Rounding out the performance, Younger showed her funky side, noodling about on a sweet driving soul groove. The jazz harp is indeed alive and well in her talented hands.

A footnote to this review—headliner Cecil McLorin Salvant followed Younger with an interesting set, though jazz was not on her menu. I guess I missed the memo; instead of the jazz standards and original improvisations we might expect from a three-time Grammy ® Award winning jazz musician, Salvant performed operatic selections by 17th century middle Baroque composer Henry Purcell. Reminding us she wanted to be an opera singer and studied in Paris where she learned jazz, Salvant fronted a combo that included her frequent collaborator Sullivan Fortner on keyboards and harpsichord, Yasushi Nakamura on bass, Emi Ferguson on wooden flutes, Keita Ogawa on drums and Dusan Mauri on lute and a seven foot tall stringed instrument called the therobo. Dressed like Punchinello with Elizabethan cowl, black and white striped trousers and shiny artist's smock, Salvant offered up that same amazing vocal range, expressive delivery and lyrical precision her fans have long admired. It just didn't swing. Caveat emptor.