Brand New Life (Impulse)
Brandee Younger
Released April 7, 2023
AllMusic Favorite Jazz Albums 2023
DownBeat Four-and-a-Half-Star Review
JAZZ.FM91 Best Jazz Albums of 2023
Jazzwise Top 40 Albums of the Year 2023
YouTube:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kPAM4BR6u1b_A66YJl5kZq79weNqvXv1Q
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About:
Brandee Younger is defying expectations. Over the past 15 years, she has worked relentlessly to stretch boundaries for harpists. In 2022, she broke new ground by becoming the first black woman nominated for a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition. An ever-expanding artist, the album builds on her already rich oeuvre, transcending genre. As the title suggests, Brand New Life is about forging new paths. It features originals by Brandee, reinterpretations of Dorothy Ashby classics, and more.
Track Listing:
1. You’re a Girl for One Man Only (Dorothy Ashby / Brandee Younger) 03:58
2. Brand New Life (Brandee Younger / Maimouna Youssef) 04:32
3. Come Live with Me (Interlude) Michael Jospeh Caranda / Russ Carlyle / Ivan J. Washabaugh) 02:22
4. Livin’ and Lovin’ in My Own Way (Dorothy Ashby / Brandee Younger) 04:58
5. Running Game (Intro) (Dorothy Ashby / Brandee Younger) 01:07
6. Running Game (Dorothy Ashby / Brandee Younger) 04:39
7. Moving Target (Brandee Younger) 04:21
8. Dust (Dorothy Ashby) 04:36
9. The Windmills of Your Mind (Alan Bergman / Marilyn Bergman / Michel Legrand) 02:56
10. If It’s Magic (Stevie Wonder) 03:29
Personnel:
Brandee Younger: harp, vocals (5)
Rashaan Carter: bass (1, 2, 4, 6, 7), bass clarinet (8)
Makaya McCraven: drums (1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9), percussion (2, 4, 7, 8, 9)
Joel Ross: vibraphone (1, 4, 7), xylophone (9)
Yuri Popowycz: strings (6, 7, 9)
Mumu Fresh: vocals (2)
Pete Rock: drum programming (4)
DeSean Jones: flute (5, 7)
Linda McNease-Younger: vocals (5)
Sharon McNease-Griggs: vocals (5)
Meshell Ndegeocello: vocals (8)
Junius Paul: bass (9)
9th Wonder: drum programming (9)
Recorded at MakayaMusic Studios
Produced by Makaya McCraven
Recorded and Mixed by Dave Vettraino
Mastered by Kevin Reeves
Design: Ashley Pawlak
Review:
Jazz harp is a unique instrument and one that takes on ever more intoxicating textures on Brandee Younger’s seventh album, 2023’s Brand New Life. In fact, harp is so rare in jazz circles it’s hard to think of two more influential performers on the instrument than Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane, both of whom Younger has drawn from in the past and whose work inspires much of Brand New Life. Younger is a strikingly gifted performer, blessed with a crisp technique marked by spiraling, melodic lines and great harmonic, multi-note swells. While sophisticated post-bop jazz is at the core of her style, she pulls equally from classical, funk, and R&B. Primarily, she evokes the work of Ashby, whose groundbreaking albums like 1968’s Afro-Harping serve as a model for Younger’s own genre-bending sound. Here, she showcases her vibrant harp sound, juxtaposing her glassy, otherworldly tone with skittering drum grooves, velvety bass, strings, marimba, and the occasional flute. There’s a dream-like quality to her playing here, as in the opening “You’re a Girl for One Man Only,” a shimmering take on the romantic Ashby ballad that sounds like it was culled from the soundtrack to a ’70s romantic thriller. Just as compelling is her reading of Ashby’s most recognizable composition, “The Windmills of Your Mind,” which Younger reworks with an angular hip-hop-infused atmosphere with the aid of DJ/producer 9th Wonder. Other throwback R&B-style moments follow, including the languid title track featuring vocalist Mumu Fresh and the reggae-infused “Dust” with Meshell N’degeocello. There are also bold instrumental tracks, like “Moving Target,” a woozy blend of downtempo club grooves and widescreen orchestral jazz. While there’s certainly a classic soul-jazz vibe to much of Younger’s work, her music is swaggering, boldly contemporary, and too conceptually forward-thinking to ever feel anything less than of the now.
Matt Collar (AllMusic)
