Brandee Younger
This poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. )Find sources: "Brandee Younger" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2023) |
Brandee Younger | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Born | July 1, 1983 |
Origin | Hempstead, New York, US |
Genres | Jazz, classical, pop |
Occupation(s) | Musician, Composer, Educator |
Instrument(s) | Harp |
Years active | 2006–present |
Website | www.brandeeyounger.com |
Brandee Younger (born July 1, 1983)[1] is an American harpist. Younger infuses classical, jazz, soul, and funk influences to the harp tradition pioneered by her predecessors and idols Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane. Younger leads her own ensemble, performs as a soloist and has worked as a sideman for such musicians as Pharoah Sanders, Jack DeJohnette, Charlie Haden, Bill Lee and Reggie Workman, and other popular artists including Lauryn Hill, John Legend (Love in the Future), Common (Finding Forever), Ryan Leslie, Drake, Maxwell, The Roots, Moses Sumney and Salaam Remi. Younger is noted for her work with saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, who was featured on her 2019 release, Soul Awakening. She recorded and toured with drummer and producer Makaya McCraven following the release of his 2018 album Universal Beings.
Current features
In April 2019, Younger's original composition "Hortense" was featured in the documentary
Early life
Brandee grew up in
Younger is the cousin of an urban farmer and
Career
Over time, Younger has built her career as an educator, concert curator, performer, and bandleader of the Brandee Younger Quartet. Her debut EP, Prelude, was released in June 2011, having been recorded in an analog studio with Dezron Douglas, E.J. Strickland and vocalist Niia. The original standout track "So Alive" was later featured in the Mercedes-Benz Mixed Tape compilation; Mercedes-Benz lauded the track as "...a compelling soul-jazz composition, in which all instruments are melded to a haunting universe centered around Niia's celestial voice. Beguiling musical subtlety in these times of loudness." As a classical musician, Younger has been featured as a soloist with The Harlem Chamber Players and has performed with the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Waterbury Symphony, Soulful Symphony, Ensemble Du Monde, Camerata New York and the Red Bull Artsehcro, a "non-conformist" orchestra. Younger was selected to be a 2013 Harlem Arts Festival artist and performed at Marcus Garvey Park at the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater that year. In hip hop and R&B, Younger has worked with Common, Drake and John Legend, to name a few. Younger has released three other recordings as a leader, including the EP Prelude, released in 2011, Live At The Breeding Ground, released in 2014, and Wax & Wane from 2016.
Since the 2011 debut of her Prelude EP, Younger released Brandee Younger Live @ The Breeding Ground, a breakthrough performance on Blue Note Records, Revive Music's 2015 Supreme Sonacy Vol. 1 LP, and the 2016 Wax & Wane LP. An independent artist, Younger has self-managed throughout her career. She arranged and performed a track for Impulse Records' 2018 release A Day In The Life: Impressions of Pepper - a tribute to
In August 2020, Younger contributed to the
Work as an educator
Younger is on the teaching artist faculty (harp) at
Awards and titles
Younger was nominated for a 2022
Younger has received a handful of bylines for Revive Music and Harp Column Magazine and holds several leadership positions as a member of the Apollo Young Patrons Steering Committee, and Vice President of the Metro NYC and Long Island Chapters of the
Soul Awakening
Surfacing six years after its completion in 2013, this eight-track collection was recorded in 2012 under the direction of producer and bassist Dezron Douglas and embodies the ambition, vigor, and aesthetic ideals of The Brandee Younger Quartet, at and since its inception. A benchmark recording that captures the group's collective brilliance in its infancy, Soul Awakening is a synthesis of the people, places, and moments that impacted Younger most. The first album recorded by the ensemble, Soul Awakening, marks the birth of Younger's artistic signature and the reemergence of the harp as a pillar of modern popular music.
Younger and Douglas, alongside drummer E. J. Strickland and saxophonists Stacy Dillard and Chelsea Baratz, enlist a who's who of featured collaborators to best translate their ethos. In doing so, Soul Awakening becomes a full circle release for Younger that combines her band with two of her greatest mentors: saxophonists Antoine Roney and Ravi Coltrane. Other notable contributors include drummer Chris Beck, trumpeter Freddie Hendrix, trumpeter Sean Jones, and vocalist Niia.
Soul Awakening received a positive critical response. Nate Chinen of
"The new album came about after Ms. Younger performed a tribute to Ms. Ashby commissioned by the Revive Music Group. She connected with
Discography
As leader
- 2011: Prelude, Independent
- 2014: The Brandee Younger 4tet, Live at the Breeding Ground, Independent
- 2016: Wax & Wane, Independent / Revive Music
- 2019: Soul Awakening, Independent
- 2020: Force Majeure (with Dezron Douglas), International Anthem
- 2021: Somewhere Different, Impulse!
- 2023: Brand New Life, Impulse!
Compilation appearances
- 2015: Supreme Sonacy, Blue Note Records / Revive Music
- 2018: A Day In The Life: Impressions of Pepper, Impulse!
As sideman/contributor
- 2006: Cassie, Cassie
- 2007: Finding Forever, Common
- 2008: In This Day, E.J. Strickland
- 2008: Overdose On Life, featuring Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes, Omen (record producer)
- 2009: Of Song, Marcus Strickland
- 2009: Blending Times, Ravi Coltrane
- 2012: Retox, Lakecia Benjamin
- 2012: Moments, Michael Campagna
- 2013: Mack Wilds
- 2013: Love in the Future, John Legend
- 2014: Face Forward, Jeremy Pelt
- 2016: Everything's Beautiful, Robert Glasper, Miles Davis
- 2016: The Dreaming Room, Laura Mvula
- 2016: Rebel/Find it Hard to Say, Ms Lauryn Hill
- 2016: The Songbook Sessions: Ella Fitzgerald, Jane Monheit
- 2017: Bringin' It, Christian McBride Big Band
- 2017: Residente, Residente
- 2017: Aromanticism, Moses Sumney
- 2018: Universal Beings, Makaya McCraven
- 2018: Old Fashioned Gal, Kat Edmonson
- 2019: Sex High, Salaam Remi & James Fauntleroy
- 2019: Resavoir, Resavoir
- 2019: Dreams, Fairytales, Fantasies, A$AP Ferg ft Brent Faiyaz & Salaam Remi
- 2019: Poetry in Motion, The Soul Rebels
- 2020: Dreamers Do, Kat Edmonson
- 2020: I Think I'm Good, Kassa Overall
- 2020: We're New Again, Gil Scott-Heron, Makaya McCraven
- 2020: Pursuance: The Coltranes, Lakecia Benjamin
- 2020: Græ, Moses Sumney
- 2020: Harmony, Josh Groban
- 2020: Lagos and Pepper Soup, Michael Olatuja
- 2020: Universal Beings E&F sides, Makaya McCraven
- 2020: Black Love, Salaam Remi ft. Teedra Moses & D-Nice
- 2020: Until this Day, Salaam Remi ft. Case
- 2020: VOYAGE-19, Bilal
- 2020: Petestrumentals 3, Pete Rock
- 2021: Private Space, Durand Jones & The Indications
- 2021: Satori Ways, Max Herre Web Web
- 2021: Talk Memory, BadBadNotGood
- 2021: Donda, Kanye West
- 2022: In These Times, Makaya McCraven
- 2023: The Omnichord Real Book, Meshell Ndegeocello
- 2023: Fine Tune, Terrace Martin
References
- ^ "Brandee Younger". All About Jazz. July 1983. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
- ^ "Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé (2019): Soundtracks". IMDb.
- ^ Jarenwattananon, Patrick (June 6, 2013). "Brandee Younger: Taxidermy, Two-Headed Skeletons And Jazz Harp". NPR.
- ^ "Soundtrack of America - the Shed". Archived from the original on October 3, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
- ^ a b Nate Chinen, "Brandee Younger, a Harpist Finding Her Way to Jazz", The New York Times, February 29, 2016.
- ^ "Various Artists: A Day In The Life: Impressions Of Pepper". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- Consequence of Sound. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
- ^ Threadcraft, Torry (September 6, 2020). "Check Out Bilal And HighBreedMusic's 'VOYAGE-19' Album". Okayplayer. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
- ^ "Brandee Younger – Music Artist Faculty". NYU Steinhardt.
- ^ "The New School's College of Performing Arts Announces the Appointment of Brandee Younger to Faculty". The New School. November 23, 2020.
- ^ https://www.grammy.com/artists/Brandee-Younger/38592.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ "2020 Winners". JJA Jazz Awards. Jazz Journalists Association.
- ^ "Terri Lyne Carrington Tops 2020 DownBeat Critics Poll". DownBeat. July 6, 2020.
- ^ "COVER: Makhathini, Davis, Muthspiel, Moore, Corea, Younger and Douglas", DownBeat, Volume 87, Number 7, July 2020.
- ^ "Women's Jazz Festival: Divine Ella". Nycgo.com. March 6, 2017. Retrieved April 10, 2023.
- ^ Cicily Janus, The New Face of Jazz: An Intimate Look at Today's Living Legends and the Artists of Tomorrow, Billboard Books, 2010.