2 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Brandee Younger Has a New Secret Weapon: Alice Coltrane's Harp
Brandee Younger has noticed her audience changing lately. The harpist, composer and bandleader, whose elegant, groove-anchored sound has made her a standout presence in and around jazz in recent years, had grown accustomed to seeing a certain type of listener at her shows.
'It's, like, a Portland, 40s man,' she said with a smile during an interview last month at her East Harlem apartment, referencing demographic data on her fan base — not atypical for a contemporary jazz artist — furnished by her label.
During recent tours, though, she started to notice an influx of 'young girls that are, like, so excited.'
It's been an encouraging sight for Younger, 41, who said that growing up as 'this little Black girl playing harp' and devoting herself to classical studies while also keeping close tabs on hip-hop and R&B, she struggled to find role models.
'I want to grab their hands,' she said of these new converts. 'I want to nurture these 20-year-old girls, because I wish I had that — something like that — when I was 20.'
Younger's latest batch of music, out Friday, feels like a nurturing, affirming message too. 'Gadabout Season,' her third album for Impulse!, offers the best encapsulation yet of the tasteful, subtly radical sonic hybrid that she has been honing since she picked up the harp at age 11. It's a persuasive argument for the vast, trans-idiomatic potential of her instrument.
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