Brandee Younger

Brandee Younger is revolutionizing the harp for the digital era. Over the past fifteen years, this sonically innovative harpist has worked relentlessly to stretch boundaries and limitations for harpists. In 2022, she made history as the first black woman nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition. Additionally, that same year, she was also nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Furthermore, ever-expanding as an artist, she has worked with cultural icons including Common, Lauryn Hill, John Legend and Moses Sumney.

Her current album, 2023’s Brand New Life, builds on her already rich oeuvre and cements the harp’s place in pop culture. As the album title suggests, Brand New Life is about forging new paths–artistic, personal, political and spiritual. Specifically, Younger salutes her musical foremother, the trailblazing harpist Dorothy Ashby. Moreover, she speaks to the sentiments of more recent generations. Additionally, Brand New Life is an album about living fully, in neon bright color.

Younger works seriously as an educator. For instance, she has been a guest faculty and lecturer at Berklee College of Music, Princeton University, Howard University and Tulane University. Currently, she serves as teaching artist faculty at New York University and The New School. In 2020, Younger was named winner of the Downbeat Critics Poll in the “Rising Star” category. Moreover, her work as a side-woman (with artists like Pharoah Sanders, Ravi Coltrane and Jack DeJohnette) is further evidence of Younger’s undeniable presence in the sound of contemporary jazz today.

Additionally, Younger’s commitment to honoring the legacy of black women harpists can be seen through her curatorial work. Specifically, she has curated performances dedicated to honoring the work of Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane. Consequently, this work clearly speaks to her dedication as a purveyor of black music and history.

Recommended for Fans of Alice Coltrane, Dorothy Ashby, Gregoire Maret and Ravi Coltrane.

LEARN MORE: https://brandeeyounger.com/

PHOTO CREDIT: Erin O’Brien