Brandee Younger Brings Her Stellar Discography To NPR’s Tiny Desk
Younger stopped by NPR to help celebrate Black Music Month.
Grammy-nominated harpist and composer Brandee Younger visited the iconic NPR Tiny Desk to spellbind listeners with tracks from her latest record, Brand New Life. The performance, organized to celebrate Black Music Month, finds Younger performing singles like “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” “Brand New Life,” “Moving Target,” “Unrest I,”
and “Unrest II,” Check out the performance below.
This performance follows her recent NYC SummerStage set as well as her Good Morning America appearance with Pete Rock. Performing live is perhaps where Younger shines the brightest. This Tiny Desk appearance provides listeners with an intimate listen into the musician’s majestic discography. Fully enrapturing her audience in her smooth yet snappy body of work, Younger leaves all those present in a state of blissful relaxation and revitalization following every spry pluck of her harp strings.
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Brand New Life, released April 7, combines original works from Younger, reinterpretations of legendary harpist Dorothy Ashby’s work, and previously-unrecorded compositions by Ashby. Younger, a history-making composer herself in a genre that has remained largely male-dominated, continues Ashby’s legacy on Brand New Life, utilizing the instrument to bridge genres and decades. The album also includes features by Pete Rock, 9th Wonder, and Meshell Ndegeocello, and production by Makaya McCraven.
Celebrated as the premier harpist of her generation, Brandee Younger has broken new ground for fellow instrumentalists over the entirety of her career. Younger made history as the first Black female solo artist to be Grammy-nominated for Best Instrumental Composition, for “Beautiful is Black” from her genre-busting 2021 major-label debut album, Somewhere Different.
That same year the album also garnered an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Jazz Album – Instrumental. Along with the release of Brand New Life, Younger will be embarking on a series of headlining shows across the U.S. this spring, and will follow her whirlwind 2023 with a residency as SFJazz’s Resident Artistic Director in early 2024.
