by S. Rotan Hale
Among the world of instruments the harp is one not generally thought of regarding jazz music. Furthermore most jazz fans of a certain age will attest to Alice Coltrane, wife of legendary saxophonist John Coltrane, as being the quintessential queen of jazz harp. Others as Dorthy Ashby and Andreas Vollenweider are among the few to bring the harp into mainstream prominence yet still it remains as an unusual instrument in somewhat of an esoteric sense particularly regarding jazz and popular music.
Boldly forging a new dimension in jazz harp is Brandee Younger, an artist who fuses an array of genres into her style. Younger brought her trio to the Jefferson Center’s Jazz Club Thursday, Sept. 14 for two amazings performances lasting a little over an hour each.
Accompanying her was bassist Rashawn Carter who played mostly upright bass and drummer “extraordinaire” Alan Mednard who took the art of drumming to a new level particularly during a lengthy solo halfway through the show that flooded the venue with drum and cymbal rudiments galore.
Still the dynamic interplay between Younger’s celestial-like strumming and Mednard’s percussive treatment created layers of unusual ebb and flow melodiously grounded by Younger’s mastery of her instrument and handling of her trio as well.
Nothing is more musically classic in appearance and sound as the harp – a considerably large and beautifully ornate instrument with a look and sound that traditionally evokes images of heaven. Watching Younger perform so gracefully caressing the harp’s strings as she moves somewhat in a trance-like state is mesmerizing in and of itself.
She opened the show with one of her most popular originals Love and Struggle. The piece was somewhat of an introduction to the amazing abilities of both Mednard, who wrapped the tune in layers of super-syncopated cadence and Carter who slipped into one of several solos he infused into the set.
She followed with Unrest, a piece she composed in 2020 during the height of the pandemic.
“There were lots of protests going on during that period (May 2020) and I was commissioned by an organization called the Jazz Coalition to write a piece that reflected the moment,” she said, introducing the song–arranged in two movements.
The first movement opened with Brandee strumming through a hauntingly beautiful solo leaving the audience entranced and floating until her backup joined in with an uptempo accompaniment.
Paying tribute to the great Alice Coltrane, Brandee performed what she said was her favorite song by Coltrane – Turiya & Ramakrishna from Coltrane’s album Pitah, The El Daoud. Hauntingly she and her crew tipped delicately through the ballad, again to the crowd’s amazement.
Creating a well-balanced set she picked things up with Spirit U Will, an uptempo original from her most recent album Somewhere Different. It was the only tune on which Carter played electric bass while Mednard shuffled complex drum rudiments through the song.
Brandee is a Stevie Wonder fan which led her to play a most celestial version of If It’s Magic from Stevie’s Song’s in the Key of Life album that featured another great harpist Dorthy Ashby who she attested to being greatly inspired by.
The entire set was as exhilarating and dynamic as it was refreshingly different to say the least and closed after another original Moving Target from her album Brand New Life that served as a tribute to Ashby.
Much can be said about such a brilliant, outside-the-box, award-winning artist as Brandee Younger who clearly defies genres forging her musical path on such an unusual instrument as the harp. Clearly Younger’s performance lifted both audiences of local music lovers to heights unexplored…thanks to the Jefferson Center.
