Harpist Brandee Younger to close Celebrity Series Jazz Festival 2025
Harpist bringing trio to Arrow Street Arts
Banner Arts & Culture
Sponsored by Cruz Companies
Celebrity Series’ 2025 Jazz Festival pops up in newly opened Arrow Street Arts in Harvard Square from March 13 through the 16. The event will feature performances by the Sean Mason Quartet, the Linda May Han Oh Quintet, the Mali Obomsawin Quintet and the Brandee Younger Trio. The eclectic mix of music makes each night’s show worth checking out. Enhanced by the small venue, audience seating will resemble a club with table seating, a bar and snacks.
The festival closer is harpist and composer Brandee Younger, winner of the NAACP Image Award in 2024 for “Outstanding Jazz Album.” On March 16 she will be joined by Rashaan Carter on bass and Allan Mednard on drums. Younger, currently resident artistic director at the SFJAZZ in San Francisco, is inspired by the compositions of Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby.
She adds humor, a fresh outlook and an appreciation of silence between notes. During the pandemic, she recorded “Force Majeure” with bassist Dezron Douglas. Raw and poignant, hopeful and alert to that time of grave uncertainty, the album is an insightful passage into Younger’s music. That music frames the current state of jazz: legacy that provides the confidence needed to make it new. The Banner caught up with Younger last week.
Banner: What are you performing on the 16th?
Brandee Younger: We’ll be doing some new tunes and some from my forthcoming album, which will be out this summer, just so I don’t bore the band!
Which musicians inspire your work?
Of course, Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby, both harpists. And the cellist Meshell Ndegeocello. I also love old school R&B and George Burton’s new album, “White Noise.”
Tell us about how, “Force Majeure,” came about — recorded during the pandemic, it brought isolated listeners together.
At first, we did it for fun: live streaming, recorded on iPads and our phones. It felt authentic and raw. Then we started to get feedback, like, “I really needed that,” and “Will you be back next week?” It is a time capsule that captured that moment in history.
What is your path as a musician?
All my training and degrees are in classical music. As a kid, I enjoyed popular music, and my teacher at the time would let me learn popular tunes. It was a type of music I felt connected to. When my father gave me an Alice Coltrane compilation, “Blue Nile,” it was the first time I heard the harp used in the rhythm section, and I decided that I wanted to do something like that. I played the trombone in high school! I knew I didn’t want an orchestral career and began to excel at chamber music. I love the slow ensemble, how a small group makes musical freedom possible while still providing support. My father is proud of the fact that he was the one who introduced me to the harp!
What are your plans in 2025?
The new record! It’s a deeply personal album, a little bit different, kind of, “cute.” And I’m starting my second year as artistic director at SFJAZZ.
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