Somewhere Different Brandee Younger

• 1 Reclamation 06:42
• 2 Spirit U Will 07:11
• 3 Pretend 04:31
• 4 Somewhere Different 05:21
• 5 Love & Struggle (48kHz) 05:41
• 6 Beautiful Is Black (48kHz) 07:10
• 7 Olivia Benson (48kHz) 04:01
• 8 Tickled Pink (48kHz) 03:00
• Total Runtime 43:37

Info for Somewhere Different

Over the past decade, the harpist Brandee Younger has been at the center of music’s celebrated work, even if you didn’t know she was there. Be it her output with the soul singer John Legend or the rapper Common, she’s always put her stamp on the music in question, all while setting a new course for what classical music can entail. But with her major-label debut, Somewhere Different, she’s pushing her artistry to the foreground. By her own admission, Younger would’ve stepped back in years past to let others shine; the harp would’ve been mixed behind layers of woodwind instruments. Now she’s putting her instrument first. “It was important for me to thrust the harp forward in a non-traditional setting,” Younger says of her new album. “I made a conscious effort to make sure that the harp was a bit more present in this recording. It’s important for the instrument.”

Indeed, the first sound heard on Somewhere Different is the harp, a gorgeous, tone-setting solo that ushers in “Love & Struggle,” the album’s meditative opener. It also sets the mission for the music that follows: Younger has spent her career breaking down the barriers between classical music and contemporary forms of R&B, hip-hop, and funk. This album synthesizes her work while forging new ground. “I started recording music that wasn’t common on harp in 2006,” she says. This is my way of combining all the worlds I have into one. This is me doing my own thing completely.”

Listeners will hear this creative freedom throughout the LP, from the introspective tenor of “Olivia Benson,” “Beautiful Is Black” and “Pretend,” featuring Tarriona “Tank” Ball of the breakout New Orleans band Tank and the Bangas, to the vibrant rock and bounce-infused sounds of “Reclamation” and the title track, respectively. In that way, Younger pays homage to the pioneering harpists Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby, both of whom merged the instrument with jazz, funk and soul at a time when such ingenuity wasn’t commonplace. As a result, Coltrane and Ashby are still somewhat underrated in the pantheon of Black music, even if their sounds — an undeniable blend of angelic strings, spiritual jazz and fervent grit — still captivate. This bravery inspired Younger, and with every album, she makes it a point to celebrate the icons in some form. While Coltrane’s name tends to resonate in certain circles, Ashby’s hasn’t enjoyed the same luxury. “She was playing music of her time on the harp, which was unheard of,” Younger says. “She was doing it creatively, and never got the due that she deserved.” Somewhere Different is not only the realization of Younger’s musical journey, it channels the spirit of a deserving performer whose life merits deeper examination. Younger fully asserting her brilliance is the greatest tribute to Ashby collaborating with her longtime band members on the Album.

Somewhere Different was composed and recorded in the New York City area from November 2020 to February 2021, just as the region started to recover from an unprecedented health crisis that killed thousands of people and threatened the livelihoods of countless others. The world was shut down, and without live concerts, musicians had to find new ways to survive economically. Younger and long-time collaborator Dezron Douglas streamed a weekly series of brunch-hour live shows that pulled back the curtain on the duo’s creative process. Viewers got to see their lighthearted rapport, and the series quickly became popular, garnering coverage from the likes of NPR. Some of the performances were captured on the duo’s first album, Force Majeure, released in December 2020. Their shows took place when things were uncertain; the pandemic was just beginning to unfold and the devastation was reaching its height. Somewhere Different, produced by Douglas, who is also a featured bassist on the Album – captures the tenor of that time, but it also reflects the nation’s transition from darkness to light. Side A’s introspection is matched by side B’s radiance. “I think, unintentionally, the tracks on this record were the result of what we were dealing with,” Younger says. “Being isolated, it’s not a new story – it’s everyone’s story. It was weird to be in this space where you weren’t able to do anything or go anywhere but you still had to create. Where do you get your inspiration from when you are living within four walls?”

Still, Younger was able to create her best album to date, one that touches on a vast number of themes without losing focus. Featuring Allan Mednard on drums and Rashaan Carter on bass (with occasional appearances by legendary bassist Ron Carter, trumpeter Maurice Brown, tenor saxophonist Chelsea Baratz, flutist Anne Drummond, drummer Marcus Gilmore, and bassist Douglas), their execution lend the LP its overall brilliance and give Younger a proper canvas to respect love, joy, and tranquility; a rightful rendering of the natural light she exudes. The songs “Reclamation” and the title track operate as the album’s extended centerpiece, and are the furthest departure from anything Younger has done to this point. But they aren’t so foreign that listeners won’t recognize her. The lush soundscapes are still there; these classical-contemporary hybrids represent her newfound artistic liberty. Other tracks are more straightforward, rooted in Younger’s love of ‘90s R&B bands like SWV and Xscape. On “Pretend,” for instance, guest vocalist “Tank” Ball sings and raps of a romantic affair; her lyrics impart a longing for the next encounter. “Spirit U Will” and “Tickled Pink” coalesce the album, merging the meditative aura of its earlier tracks with the idealistic mood of its latter half. In the end, Somewhere Different cements her stature as one of the world’s best harpists and a leader in experimental music. “I hope it is enjoyable to listen to,” Younger says through a smile. “Not hard to listen to, nothing to be analyzed or overanalyzed, but that people will just enjoy it. Everything has a groove, and that’s me.”

Brandee Younger, harp
Allan Mednard, drums
Rashaan Carter, upright bass (tracks 1, 4, 6, 8)
Dezron Douglas, electric bass (tracks 5, 7)
Guests:
Ron Carter, bass (tracks 2, 3)
Tarronia ‘Tank’ Ball, vocal (track 4)
Maurice Brown, trumpet
Chelsea Baratz, tenor saxophone
Anne Drummond, flute
Marcus Gilmore, drums

Brandee Younger
Among the most celebrated jazz artists to emerge in the 21st century, Brandee Younger is a harpist, composer and bandleader whose music connects spiritual jazz and classical training to the rhythmic soulfulness of R&B and hip-hop. She grew up on Long Island, where she sang gospel, studied the harp classically and became enamored of both hip-hop and the vintage soul that rap producers sampled. When Younger was a teenager, her father introduced her to Alice Coltrane’s music — a transformative moment that all but defined her life’s journey.

In Coltrane and, later, Dorothy Ashby, Younger saw two strong, empowering Black women whose brilliance on the harp inspired Younger to stake her own claim on jazz history. Over the past two decades, Younger has honored these two artistic heroines while carving a singular path. On top of recording their music, she has collaborated with John and Alice Coltrane’s son Ravi, a spellbinding saxophonist, and with iconic figures in the Coltrane legacy, like the late Pharoah Sanders. Along the way, she’s also become a go-to player in popular music, contributing to projects and performances by Ms. Lauryn Hill, Beyoncé, Stevie Wonder, the Roots, Common, John Legend and many others. As the New Yorker wrote, “Her radiant playing is as cogent on hip-hop and R&B albums as it is set against classical and jazz backdrops.”

Her first LP for the storied Impulse! Records label — a.k.a. The House That Trane Built — was 2021’s “Somewhere Different”. A track from that album, “Beautiful Is Black,” earned Younger a Grammy nomination in the Best Instrumental Composition category, making her the first Black female solo artist to achieve this. Two years later, on “Brand New Life”, Younger revitalized newly discovered Ashby compositions, and that LP won the 2024 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Album. “Gadabout Season”, released in 2025, is a more reflective and personal work focusing on Younger’s inimitable original music. In addition to her non-stop performance schedule, Younger is a dedicated educator, teaching on the faculties of New York University and the New School.

This album contains no booklet.