Harpist

The sonically innovative harpist, Brandee Younger, is revolutionizing harp for the digital era. Over the past 15 years, she has worked relentlessly to stretch boundaries and limitations for harpists. In 2022, she made history by becoming the first black woman to be nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition. That same year, she was also nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Ever-expanding as an artist, she has worked with cultural icons including Common, Lauryn Hill, John Legend, and Moses Sumney. Her current album, Brand New Life, builds on her already rich oeuvre, and cements the harp’s place in pop culture. As the title of the album suggests, Brand New Life is about forging new paths—artistic, personal, political, and spiritual. On this album, Younger salutes her musical foremother, the trailblazing harpist Dorothy Ashby, while also speaking to the sentiments of more recent generations. “We're bringing new life to Dorothy Ashby’s popular and previously unreleased compositions. We're creating new life…for the instrument,” Younger said. Brand New Life is an album about living fully, in neon bright color.

Brandee Younger Trio feat. Mumu Fresh

Monterey County Fairgrounds

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ICA Steinway Soirée 

The Godon Residence

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.

Brandee Younger

Dakota

The New York Times says 2021 GRAMMY nominee Brandee Younger has “almost single-handedly made a persuasive argument for the harp’s role in contemporary jazz.” See this jazz harp sensation and her trio up close in the intimate surroundings of our cabaret-style space.

JAZZ @ THE JAI: Brandee Younger Trio

La Jolla Music Society

Spoleto Festival USA’s Jazz Curator Larry Blumenfeld speaks with artists from the 2023 Wells Fargo Jazz Series. These discussions are free (tickets required).

Jazz Talks

Queen Street Playhouse

Riviera Theater

Grammy-nominated harpist Brandee Younger is revolutionizing the instrument for the 21st century, stretching its boundaries and musical limitations. An avid hip-hop fan as a teen, she studied classical music at the University of Hartford and soon ventured into the world of jazz. Since then, “the most heralded new voice on the harp” (NPR) has worked with cultural icons including Common, Beyonce, Lauryn Hill, and Stevie Wonder—not to mention some of jazz’s current greats, from Ravi Coltrane to Reggie Workman. In five concerts during Spoleto’s new Jazz at the Playhouse series, Younger presents her signature “dreamy, harp-forward, R&B-inflected jazz.”

A leading voice of the harp, Brandee Younger recently made history at the 2022 Grammy Awards as the first Black female solo artist nominated in the Best Instrumental Composition category for her song ‚”Beautiful Is Black.” The mesmerizing track is from her 2021 major label debut album, Somewhere Different, that also received a 2022 NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Jazz Album —  Instrumental. Over her career Younger has performed and recorded across countless genres with artists including John Legend, The Roots, Lauryn Hill, Common, Pharoah Sanders, Ravi Coltrane, Ron Carter, and Charlie Haden.

Noon30: Brandee Younger Trio

Trustees' Garden

A leading voice of the harp, Brandee Younger recently made history at the 2022 Grammy Awards as the first Black female solo artist nominated in the Best Instrumental Composition category for her song “Beautiful Is Black.” The mesmerizing track is from her 2021 major label debut album, Somewhere Different, that also received a 2022 NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Jazz Album — Instrumental. Over her career Younger has performed and recorded across countless genres with artists including John Legend, The Roots, Lauryn Hill, Common, Pharoah Sanders, Ravi Coltrane, Ron Carter, and Charlie Haden.

Brandee Younger Trio / Immanuel Wilkins Quartet

For her final two nights of residency, Younger honors the life and music of the late harpist and jazz legend Alice Coltrane with her working trio, strings, and special guests. An artist chosen by Coltrane’s son Ravi to perform at a series of concerts in her honor as well as her memorial in 2007, Younger carries on the adventurous spirit of her greatest influence, infusing her compositions with a 21st century vibrancy and fearless experimentation.



Brandee Younger: Alice Coltrane Tribute

SFJAZZ Center

Younger begins her week with two nights devoted to her 2023 Impulse! album Brand New Life, a shimmering collection of works written by or performed by the late jazz harp pioneer Dorothy Ashby, along with original compositions dedicated to Ashby’s enduring legacy. Building bridges that span jazz, classical music, and hip-hop, Younger is joined for these dates by her working trio of bassist Rashaan Carter and drumming phenom Makaya McCraven, along with a string section and special guests.



Brandee Younger: Brand New Life

Emily Reader, harp

Ryan Center for the Musical Arts

Praised as “one of the greatest musical visionaries of his generation” (Blue Note Records), vibraphone master and songwriter Joel Ross is joined onstage by members of Good Vibes and harpist Brandee Younger in this genre-expanding performance as part of the Jazz at the Logan series.

Joel Ross ‘Good Vibes’ with Brandee Younger

Reva and David Logan Center for the Arts

The Universal Temple of the Arts Staten Island JAZZ Festival 36, returns to the St. George Theatre, featuring a very dynamic and charismatic next generation of jazz musicians who reflect the diverse tapestry of jazz and its evolution – Esteemed Saxophonist, composer, and vocalist Camille Thurman will perform with her Quartet; innovative Harpist Brandee Younger; regal Vocalist, Alicia Olatuja’s Ensemble and the 3x Grammy-nominated, Saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin and her Ensemble. Faithful fans of the longest-running community jazz festival and first-timers are in store for a joyful, hip, eclectic night of jazz.

Universal Temple of the Arts Staten Island JAZZ Festival 36

St. George Theatre

Harpist Brandee Younger, current Resident Artistic Director at the illustrious SF Jazz, is carving a unique path in the music world while honoring the legacy of those who paved her way. Her most recent album, Brand New Life, pays tribute to jazz harp trailblazer Dorothy Ashby, a Black female musician who defied expectations by becoming a bandleader and composer on an unconventional instrument.  

Brandee Younger

Harpist

Events

Upcoming events

Sep 27 - Dec 17, 2024

ICA Steinway Soirée · International Chamber Artists

Dec 20, 2024

Universal Temple of the Arts Staten Island JAZZ Festival 36 · St. George Theatre

Mar 16, 2025

Brandee Younger Trio · Celebrity Series of Boston

Past events

Sep 29, 2024

Brandee Younger Trio feat. Mumu Fresh · Monterey Jazz Festival

Sep 27 - Dec 17, 2024

ICA Steinway Soirée · International Chamber Artists

About

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