Enter the mind of harpist, composer, and SFJAZZ Resident Artistic Director Brandee Younger, who takes us on her journey of creativity, making friends with space and openness, treating improvisation as a conversation, and embracing the inspiration of her elders to build her confidence as an artist.
Watch her full-length March 2024 concert on-demand here.
Carrying on and expanding the tradition of pioneering jazz harpists Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane, Younger made her public debut in 2007 as a grad student at NYU, when saxophonist Ravi Coltrane enlisted the then-23-year-old to participate in the memorial service for his mother Alice.
A student of jazz great Jackie McLean, Younger has collaborated with artists from the worlds of jazz, soul, and hip hop, including Jack DeJohnette, Charlie Haden, Pharoah Sanders, Lauren Hill, and Common.
In 2021 she released her Impulse! Records debut, Somewhere Else, which earned Younger a Best Instrumental Composition GRAMMY nomination for the track “Beautiful is Black.” Her 2023 Impulse! release, Brand New Life, honors Dorothy Ashby’s legacy through songs the late harpist wrote and/or performed.
Up Next in Season 1
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In My Mind w/ Mike Rodriguez
Enter the mind of trumpeter, composer, and SFJAZZ Collective member Mike Rodriguez, whose approach to his instrument is based in awareness of the physical process of music making, being open to inspiration, playing off his emotions, and tapping into a state of pure expression.
A GRAMMY-winning ...
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In My Mind w/ Soweto Kinch
Enter the mind of saxophonist, rapper, and composer Soweto Kinch, who traces his path to jazz mastery, comparing it to learning a foreign language, and his formative experiences as a young artist who used the influence of the greats to form his own musical identity. The London-born Kinch is seaml...
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The Breakdown: Clave w/ SFJAZZ Collec...
World-class musicians break down musical concepts at various levels of difficulty, from beginner to advanced.
SFJAZZ Collective pianist Edward Simon and bassist Matt Brewer break down the concept of the clave, the fundamental rhythmic basis of much Afro-Cuban and Afro-Caribbean music, using exa...
