About
Brandee Younger has done more to reshape what the harp sounds like in modern music than just about anyone working today. The New York harpist, composer, and educator has played with Pharoah Sanders, The Roots, Lauryn Hill, Common, and Kanye West, threading the instrument through jazz, soul, and hip hop with a fluency that makes it feel completely natural in all of them. Her original composition "Hortense" reached a massive audience when Beyoncé used it in the Netflix documentary Homecoming. Her 2021 Impulse! Records debut Somewhere Different earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Composition, making her the first Black woman ever nominated in that category. Two years later, Brand New Life paid tribute to harp pioneer Dorothy Ashby and won the 2024 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Album. Her most recent release, Gadabout Season, also came out on Impulse! alongside her ongoing work as a teaching artist at NYU and The New School.