*East Coast-based Jazz harpist Brandee Younger brought her trio of bassist Rashann Carter and drummer Allan Mednard to West Hollywood for a generous 9-song set at The Sun Rose lounge on Sunset Boulevard on March 25.
The roughly 150 capacity room was near full capacity with about a dozen overflow patrons standing to enjoy the program. Younger arrived on the wings of winning the 2024 NAACP Image Award for Best Jazz Album for her 5th solo CD, Brand New Life (her second contracted release for the esteemed Impulse! Records label).
Playing a harp utilizing amplification and special effects, Younger opened the set with a dreamy, floating opening welcome titled “New Pinnacle,” a tease from her forthcoming album, Gadabout Season. With mood set, she dug deeper for her second offering, “Unrest,” a piece in two movements.
Commissioned during the COVID pandemic by the Jazz Coalition, the first part of the piece evoked the sadness and longing for freedom we all remember from that dreaded couple of years. Younger used the first movement to explore those emotions alone on the harp. For the second movement, the trio joined her in expressions of more optimism and fighting spirit.
A deeply resonant upright bass solo from Carter with Younger comping impressively behind him gave way to a powerful drum exhibition from Mednard on a set of skins and cymbals that were heavily muffled for the small room yet trebly effective in showcasing the drummer’s dexterity.
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It is no surprise that Younger draws inspiration from the two legendary Black women masters of the instrument: Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby. Giving them honor, Younger first feted Coltrane with a lovely rendition of her 1970 classic, “Turia & Ramakrishna,” a song that was introduced to the current generation via uses by Neo Soul star Solange and the TV show “Atlanta.”
She also expressly encouraged the audience to visit the Alice Coltrane exhibit currently on at the local Hammer Museum. A little later, Younger – apparently by request – delivered a luscious version of Stevie Wonder’s hypnotic and thoughtful “If It’s Magic” which, on his original 1976 Songs in the Key of Life recording, featured Ashby in the most high-profile feature of her lifetime. Younger herself proved very talkative and instructional throughout the night, introducing every selection with back stories and autobiographical anecdotes.
Four additional original compositions proved Younger’s versatility and whimsy beginning with “BBL” (a chattering percussive pizzicato atonement piece about one-way conversations where one can’t get a word in edgewise – Carter switching to electric bass for this), “Moving Target” (a 7/8 groove featuring drummer Mednard), the sensual slow jam “Unswept Corners” (for some Quiet Storm vibration), and the soon-to-be-released “Gadabout Season” (a 4-on-the-floor, Twilight-Zone-in-China, quirk-perk piece of gentle funk). With the audience thoroughly aroused and in the palms of her nimble hands, Younger and company closed with a welcome rendition of Marvin Gaye’s love song for the ages, “I Want You.”
The artful and intimate Sun Rose lounge was a perfect space to marinate in the magic of Brandee Younger. Her next Los Angeles visit will be Sunday, June 15 at the significantly larger Hollywood Bowl for the eagerly anticipated 1st Annual Blue Note Jazz Festival. Elsewhere, other upcoming shows include “Cosmic Music: The Celestial Songs of Alice Coltrane” in New York (Fri. May 16), and a pop/jazz concert in Bloomington, Indiana (Fri. May 23) – all highly recommended.
– A. Scott Galloway
AScottGalloway.net
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