Jazz harpist Brandee Younger will pay tribute to Detroit legends this weekend
This weekend will bring three opportunities to catch Grammy-nominated jazz harpist Brandee Younger in the metro region, with one performance Friday night at The CUBE in Detroit’s Orchestra Hall and two Saturday night sets at Ann Arbor’s Blue Llama Jazz Club.
Younger will be paying tribute to two pioneering female, African American jazz harpists who both hailed from Detroit: Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane.
“We’re talking about Black women on harp,” said Younger, 39. “We’re talking about women in jazz. And then we’re talking about harp and jazz — that’s like a trifecta of a bad combination right there. People were (not interested in) harp, and harp had always been very, very white, and being a woman in jazz then was not easy. So they weren’t as seen, maybe known, as much as I feel they should have been. For you a young girl growing up, interested in playing more than classical music, those women were my lifeline.
“We’re talking the 1950s and 1960s. It was a hard period, but they were able to do all that they did, regardless of the adversity that they faced. I don’t take it for granted. If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do now.”
Younger, who got started on harp while growing up on Long Island, is no stranger to Detroit. Her first performance in the city was during 2008’s Detroit Jazz Festival in an all-star tribute to Coltrane, playing alongside saxophonist Ravi Coltrane (Alice’s son), bassist Charlie Haden, pianist Geri Allen and drummer Jack DeJohnette.
“I was straight out of graduate school, and it was one of my first major festivals,” Younger recalled. “That was a very, very special concert, and in this capacity it was just mind-blowing. I was shaking from being so nervous playing with all these legends.”
Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation president and artistic director Chris Collins raved about Younger and her work with the organization.
“Following in the footsteps of Detroit legends Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane, Brandee Younger is such an artist,” Collins said. “Her commitment to craft, history, innovation and artistic evolution have propelled her music and established her as an artist of excellence with a powerful future. The Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation is proud to have been a part of her journey.”
Both Friday night’s CUBE show and Saturday’s Blue Llama sets will include Rashaan Carter on bass and Allan Mednard on drums.
Blue Llama artistic director Dave Sharp said, “After hearing Brandee in Brooklyn and Detroit, and after performing with her at the 2022 Concert of Colors for her Alice Coltrane tribute, I knew her sound and vibe would be a great match for the Blue Llama. Her seamless weaving of jazz, classical, soul and funk stylings creates an engaging and expansive sound.”
Indeed, Younger’s work often straddles genres; she’s equally at home in classical or hip-hop settings, having played with R&B acts such as The Roots, Common, John Legend and Lauryn Hill. Younger has played the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Paradise Jazz series each of the past two seasons, once as a duo with vibraphonist Joel Ross and most recently reuniting with Ravi Coltrane. This weekend, her trio will be playing several never-before-heard Ashby compositions that were written down but never recorded.
“We’re excited to have the opportunity to welcome her back to present her latest project, ‘Brand New Life,’ which shares a special connection with the city, as the record is a tribute to Detroit harp great Dorothy Ashby,” said Detroit Symphony Orchestra jazz manager Goode Wyche III. “(It) moves the music forward while honoring the past.”
Another Black, female harpist is a Detroit legend herself: Pat Terry-Ross performed with the Detroit Opera Orchestra for 46 years, from 1976 to 2022, and led Cass Technical High School’s harp program from 1976 until 2007 after succeeding her own former teacher. She was mentored by Ashby, who lived just five blocks away from the young Terry-Ross and would regularly invite her over to practice.
“I’m really proud that Brandee is paying homage to these roots,” Terry-Ross said. “Cass Tech has the oldest ongoing harp program in a public school in the United States. In 2025, it will be 100 years old. There are so many harpists who have come out of that program, and certainly, Dorothy and Alice were amongst the most famous. They were both brilliant artists, and they both came out of Cass Tech.”
Younger is proud to carry that legacy forward.
“This is not the first time I’ve done something playing Dorothy Ashby’s music,” she said. “I’ve sort of made it a life goal to always pay some kind of homage to Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby, in every performance I do, all the music that I write and everything that I record.”
Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at [email protected].
Brandee YoungerFriday, May 26, 20238 p.m.The CUBE at Orchestra Hall, 3711 Woodward Ave., DetroitTickets start at $30www.dso.org
Saturday, May 27, 20236 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.Blue Llama Jazz Club, 314 S. Main St., Ann ArborTickets start at $35www.bluellamaclub.com
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Harpist Brandee Younger to pay tribute to Detroit legends this weekend
