THE QUESTION THAT WOULD STUMP JAZZ FAN THS USED TO BE, “QUICK, NAME ME THREE BEBOP CLARINET PLAYERS”
CRICKETS…
NOW, YOU CAN GET THE SAME RESPONSE IF YOU ASK FOR THREE LIVING JAZZ HARPISTS.
WELL, THERE USED TO BE DOROTHY ASHBY AND ALICE COLTRANE A HALF CENTURY AGO, AND THEN THINGS TAPER OFF
DOROTHY ASHBY RECENTLY RECEIVED THE MOST VOTES FOR HER JAZZ HARP PLAYING IN THE READER’S POLL IN DOWNBEAT MAGAZINE. SHE’S BEEN ON THE JAZZ RADAR FOR ABOUT A DECADE, BUT IT’S HER TWO LATEST IMPULSE! ALBUMS, SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND BRAND NEW LIFE THAT WILL GET YOUR ATTENTION.
INSTEAD OF JUST USING THE HARP LIKE MUSICAL GARNISH, YOUNGER IS CREATING A WHOLE NEW SOUND AND STYLE, MIXING IN ELEMENTS OF R&B, HIP HOP AND SOUL WITH SOME JAZZ SOLOS AND ARRANGEMENTS THAT ARE AS ADVENTUROUS AS THEY ARE MODERN SOUNDING.
WE HAD A CHANCE TO CHECK IN WITH BRANDEE, WHO WAS ENGAGING IN CONVERSATION AS HER MUSIC
AS YOU KNOW, THERE AREN’T A LOT OF JAZZ HARP PLAYERS AROUND. SO, WAS IT THE HARP THAT FIRST GOT YOUR ATTENTION, OR JAZZ?
The harp came first.
I started the harp when I was 11-12. I was already playing flute in the marching band and concert band. I was already doing music. But all of my training, my masters and doctorate, was in classical music.
But, when I was younger, I wanted to play what was on the radio, to what my family and friends, were listening, so I was trying to connect the instrument to myself as a person
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“I was trying to connect the instrument to myself as a person”
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DID YOUR PARENTS BUY YOU A HARP THAT YOU HAD TO HAUL AROUND EVERYWHERE, OR DID THE SCHOOL SUPPLY YOU WITH ONE? IT’S ONE THING TO CARRY AROUND A FLUTE, BUT OWNING A HARP IS A COMMITMENT!
And a half!
I feel that they “get” you, because when you’re little, they start you with a little harp. That’s not bad; it’s like carrying a cello.
It’s once they advance you to the pedal harp, that you say, “What? We have to buy something that costs as much as a car?”
You feel like you got bamboozled! It’s totally like a Ponzi scheme! (laughs)
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“It’s once they advance you to the pedal harp, that you say, ‘What? We have to buy something that costs as much as a car?’”
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WHEN DID YOU HAVE THE EPIPHANY OF DOING SOMETHING SPECIAL WITH THE HARP BESIDES CLASSICAL MUSIC?
I’ve always felt like I’ve had a double life.
At home, I would bring in things that I was listening to on the radio, like pop. My teacher was so sweet; as long as I would complete my Method Book, she would write me out little lead sheets for the pop tunes that I was listening to. So, at home, I was always playing this stuff for my family because they wanted to hear something they could recognize that.
I learned early on to read the room. I would do these competitions for the Fraternity of Omega Psi Fi, and every year, if I played a Stevie Wonder tune, I’d always win; if I did something classical, I always lost!
It was a real social experiment, just literally “read the room”! That helped form my double life.
As I got older, I would go to “unknown” producer’s homes, people who made things in their mom’s basements. I would record harp on tracks, so I was already doing things out loud, but in front of people like I was doing for orchestral stuff
In high school, a few of us got our instruments swapped to trombone because there was a shortage of trombonists. So I could join the jazz and marching band. So, I’d always try to play things on harp, struggling through “Don’t Get Around Much Anymore” . I just couldn’t get around the mechanics of the instrument for that Ellington book. “Whoa! This is hard!” I couldn’t get around all of those chromaticisms.
In college, I never participated in the ensembles.
Jackie McLean was so welcoming, he said “You can come whenever to any of my classes.” So, I’d go to the classes, but I’d just bring myself; I was too intimidated to bring the harp and actually try to participate. I would just go.
I knew a lot of the music already. I had some great teachers in high school.
My high school band director would go to the Jazz Mobile every weekend and come back and show us what he learned that weekend.
He was college roommates Tim Warfield at Howard University. It’s a small world.
I grew up in New York, on Long Island. He would go to Jazz Mobile in Harlem, come back and talk about what everyone was talking about there. He got it in my head.
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“I would do these competitions…if I played a Stevie Wonder tune, I’d always win; if I did something classical, I always lost!”
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WHEN DID YOU FIRST HEAR JAZZ HARP?
I was always obsessed with Alice Coltrane from the first time my parents brought home one of her cds. I thought “I want to do this!”
I tried to find more about her. At that time, the internet was not what it is now. Finding people back then wasn’t easy
So, in college, I was still doing the classical thing; but, I’d also do private things like weddings and cocktail hours, so I’d try to learn standards and spread out a little bit. I’d write out voicings and practice them on my own.
During my last year at college, Nat Reeves was cool enough to have me do these rehearsals with Kenny Garrett , who was working on an album.
Obviously I was very nervous, just trying to get beyond just reading every single note on the page. That’s the classical syndrome-reading everything on the page, and I was trying very hard to break out of that.
My “Oprah ‘Aha’ Moment” came in ’07 at Alice Coltrane’s memorial. I was playing there at St. John the Divine here in New York. Basically, everyone who ever played with Alice Coltrane was there. I was excited but nervous. I was with Geri Allen and Charlie Haden, and we were doing this piece, just the three of us, and I simply felt “Wow. I’ve got to figure this out.”
I knew that I’m here in grad school, getting ready for a concerto. So I realized that it’s going to be an uphill battle.
Sure, I had done gigs prior to that, but it was at that moment that my mind was made up that I needed to find a way to combine my worlds.
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“That’s the classical syndrome-reading everything on the page, and I was trying very hard to break out of that.”
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SO DID YOU FIND A “ROSETTA STONE” TEMPLATE TO DO THIS? WITH THE JAZZ HARP, THE PICKINGS ARE SLIM FOR MODELS TO USE
I liked to reference Dorothy Ashby’s solo recordings. That way I didn’t have an excuse.
I could listen to something on guitar or piano and think “I should do that!” But if I heard Dorothy do it, I’d have no excuse; if she could figure it out, I can transcribe it and play it.
Listening to a lot of Dorothy Ashby made me shut up and stop sitting there and saying “I can’t do this!”
I learned that doing things by yourself and with someone else are two different animals.
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“Listening to a lot of Dorothy Ashby made me shut up and stop sitting there and saying ‘I can’t do this!’”
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WHAT HELPED YOU WITH ENSEMBLE PLAYING FOR JAZZ?
For me it wasn’t like ‘OK, this can happen”. It just felt better.
I college, with classical music I always thrived in chamber; I was much better with chamber music than I was with orchestral and solo.
I have always loved small ensemble because you still freedom and connection in a way that you cannot with a huge group, and you sure aren’t out on your own taking solos by yourself! (laughs)
I NOTICE THAT YOU HAVE BASSIST DEZTRON DOUGLAS ON MANY OF YOUR ALBUMS. DOES THAT MEAN IT IS THE BASS THAT A HARPIST “LOCKS INTO” MORE THAN ANY OTHER INSTRUMENT?
We went to college together.
I’ll never forget that in underground I used to be so scared of drums. I was too scared to play with drums ***because they were so loud. So, what does that mean? It means you’re left with the bass!
Normally with a trio, you have piano, bass and drums, so with me it was “bass, bass, bass”. After school I moved back from Hartford to New York, and when I was doing these gigs it was ****“bass, bass, bass”. It took me a lot to finally cave in, or at least get more comfortable playing before adding the element of drum. Finally, I thought “where have I been all of these years.?!” (laughs)
For me it was more of an insecurity, as now I want bass and drums all of the time.
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“t took me a lot to finally cave in, or at least get more comfortable playing before adding the element of drum. Finally, I thought “where have I been all of these years.?!” (laughs)
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This whole album that we just did has Rashaan Carter on bass, Makaya McCraven on drums and it’s just us. We are the core for the whole record. Anything else you hear Miciah added later. We didn’t do anything other than the three of us together.
WITH JAZZ BEING SUCH A MALE DOMINATED ART, WHY DO YOU THING THAT THE HARP FIELD IS DOMINATED BY WOMEN?
Music, period, used to mean that if you’re having a performing crew, you’re a man
It used to be primarily men, but there are at least two harp Godfathers, Carlos Salzedo (as he was someone who John Coltrane admired) and Marcel Grodgney. They’re both French harpists who really expanded the repertoire for harp. They did a lot of transcriptions of pieces that weren’t originally for harp.
They had scores of students, and moved to the States. Grodgney was at Julliard, and Salvedo in Camden created a harp colony. I don’t know how it happened but almost all of their students were young American women.
From them, their students became our teachers and our teachers’ teachers. That’s how the “woman thing” started.
AS A HARPIST, DO YOU TRY TO LEARN ONLY HARP T RANSCRIPTIONS, OR CAN THE HARP ADAPT TO TRANSCRIPTIONS FOR OTHER INSTRUMENTS LIKE THE GUITAR OR PIANO IF YOU FIGURE IT OUT FOR YOURSELF?
I mostly have to figure it out for myself, but when I do try to transcribe things that are not harp, then it’s actually the trumpet. But, don’t ask me why! (chuckles)
If you’re not playing 1,000 notes and are playing something that I can hear and latch on to, and sing right back, then I’m more likely to retain it and reproduce it on my instrument.
It’s easier to latch onto a melodic line; I have trouble hearing chords. I hear the bottom and the top; I listen for the bass and melody. My ear doesn’t latch on to the middle.
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“If you’re not playing 1,000 notes and are playing something that I can hear and latch on to, and sing right back, then I’m more likely to retain it and reproduce it on my instrument”
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IS THERE A DIFFERENCE TO PLAYING ELECRTRIC HARP AS OPPOSED TO ACOUSTIC HARP?
Nobody’s ever asked me this! Only you care about my sound struggles! (laughs)
I have two kinds of harps. One is just acoustic.
Then, I have an acoustic/electric. The both play out loud.
When you’re on a big stage, especially in front of a lot of people, for example with Micaiahs band, it’s better for me to have an electric harp because with loud sounds, you’re going to get feedback, and the soundboard of the harp is so big, and the strings resonate for all eternity, creating this extra residual sound that just rings. You don’t get that with the electric harp.
You get a clear sound, but without as much resonance
For solo playing, I prefer the acoustic harp, even if it is microphoned; for groups that are going to include drums or anything loud, then the electric harp is the way to go.
DO YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE IN REGARDS TO TOUCH?
Acoustic. No question.
HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF PLAYING AROUND AND PIONEERING SOUNDS WITH THINGS LIKE PEDALS AS GUITAR PLAYERS DO?
I have pedals, but I am a dinosaur, so I’m either using only one pedal at a time, or Rashaan is operating the pedal from his bass for me because I’m a dinosaur and not trying to be a pioneer.
I have a friend; she’s on Instagram all of the time (Laura Pedals With The Harp) and she knows what she’s doing with the pedals and the harp. I leave that to her; I’m struggling with my delay! (laughs)
That’s all I can do . I’ll get a pedal board eventually, but I’m not trying to break any barriers.
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“I’m a dinosaur and not trying to be a pioneer”
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YOU PLAYED WITH RAVI COLTRANE. DID HE GIVE YOU ANY INSIGHT TO HIS MOTHER ALICE?
Of course!
Ravi has been one of my biggest mentors since that memorial in 2007 until today.
I feel very privileged to be able to have such a wonderful example. Both he and Antoine Roney are my mentors. The Roney’s want to give you information!
I learned so much about Alice Coltrane and John Coltrane, even the whole lineage, just by having these powerhouses around. I feel super fortunate.
WHAT HAS BEEN PASSED ON FROM RAVI OR ANTOINE THAT HAS ENHANCED YOUR MUSICAL WORLD?
There are a couple of things that I see Ravi do…
He’ll take on a younger player, not to try to mold them to play in a particular way. More of a guide in a direction, but never so that whoever it is, is developing organically.
I see that and think, “talking about letting a person be themselves, instead of just recreating something that exists already”
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“letting a person be themselves, instead of just recreating something that exists already”
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HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO BE ABLE TO BREAK FREE AND SAY “I CAN MAKE A SOLO”?
I don’t know if I’ve broken completely free from my shackles. I am breaking free every day.
ARE YOUR PARENTS SATISFIED WITH THE INVESTMENT THEY’VE MADE IN YOU?
I always tell my students “My parents didn’t take me seriously until I got nominated for a Grammy” (laughs)
They do now. It’s odd-my dad has said a million times over the years, “Your mom and I would never ever consider these jobs that you and your sister as our kind of work (my sister works in television). We do not have the run-of-the-mill, secure benefits type of job.
He says that, but he also says “you guys are really making it work”.
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“My parents didn’t take me seriously until I got nominated for a Grammy”
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MOST PARENTS SEE THEIR KIDS PLAY AND THINK “THAT’S ABOUT $11 A NOTE”
When I was in high school, my mom was talking to my teacher Karen Strauss; she’s an angel. I wouldn’t be able to run though playing different genres if it wasn’t for her, undulging in my pop dreams. My mom asked her one day “If Brandee wanted to pursue this, could she make a living?”
She answered “I’ve never known a harpist that couldn’t make a living” and that was all mom needed to hear.
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“She answered “I’ve never known a harpist that couldn’t make a living” and that was all mom needed to hear”
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WHAT IS THE BEST ADVICE SOMEONE HAS GIVEN YOU REGARDING CAREER OR LIFE?
You mean advice that has worked? (laughs)
I’ve got my own hangups, and my old high school band director-he’d lock us in the room with those **Jamie Aebersold Play-Alongs, and I wouldn’t know what to do.
He would say, “Just play”. (grumbling sound)
It wasn’t until after college that his voice started to go through my head again, and I just started to take the chances and “just play.” So that was the advice that I listened to many years later that finally clicked.
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“I don’t know if I’ve broken completely free from my shackles. I am breaking free every day”
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IS THERE A PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION OR WORLDVIEW THAT YOU HOLD TO THAT SERVES AS YOUR LIFE COMPASS?
This is real-I’m a control freak.
But if there is something that I’m resigned or submitted to, it is that in terms of my career I just trust what I don’t see ahead of me. I’m OK with that; it works.
It was a little scary at first, but the more that I didn’t stress about it or get to the point where I was about to bang my head into the wall, another door would open. So I figured “Let me just chill and trust”.
In terms of “philosophy”, I was raised Baptist; I’m Baptist.
There is a song called “Order My Steps”; I kind of feel that this is what happens. My steps are ordered and I just follow. It takes a lot of trust to follow what you don’t see. That’s what’s called “faith”.
GIVE ME SOME BOOKS THAT HAVE REALLY INFLUENCED YOU THAT YOU WISH OTHERS WOULD READ
I actually need to read more, but I love Monument Eternal by Franya J. Berkman, which is the only biographical work on Alice Coltrane. It’s not to be confused by Monument Eternal by Alice Coltrane.
There’s Malcomb Gladwell’s book Outliers that had a couple take aways.
Remember that plane that crashed because of the way the pilot was communicating between him and the dispatcher. His communication was so polite that it didn’t express a sense of urgency. I think about that all of the time, because I struggle with communication. “I’m trying to make it clear here!” (laughs)
In that instance, it was life or death.
WHAT MUSICIAN, LIVING OR DEAD, WOULD YOU PAY $1000 TO SEE PERFORM?
Michael Jackson
I’m a die-hard. I wish I could have seen him in the “older” stage, in the 80s. I was too young to retain it back then the way that I could now.
ANYONE IN WORLD HISTORY THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SIT DOWN FOR AN EVENING AND PICK HIS OR HER BRAIN?
Anne Frank, Vormiel Herston, Jackie O (Onassis), Josephine Baker, Nina Simone…tell me when to stop!
I want to talk to Maria Callas, Jackie O and Aristotle Onassis. I want the “T” (laughs)
WHAT FUTURE GOALS DO YOU HAVE?
I’d like to be rich and go to places without having to work for awhile. I want to go on vacation where it’s humid and I don’t have to put any oil on my skin. (laughs)
WHAT GIVES YOU THE MOST JOY?
Fresh air, my plants
WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO SAY AT YOUR MEMORIAL SERVICE?
At my funeral I want people to say, “ Brandee was so funny”, so I don’t want them to cry a lot. I want them to have fun and do “Brandee-like” things, make “Brandee-like” jokes and put on a thick Long Island accent to tell them with.
WHEN ARE YOU HITTING LA?
LA doesn’t like me. We have Seattle, San Francisco , but not LA. It’s funny, but we’re going to figure something out, so sit tight
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“My steps are ordered and I just follow. It takes a lot of trust to follow what you don’t see. That’s what’s called ‘faith’”
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JUST AS RARE AS IT IS TO HEAR A HARP IN A JAZZ SETTING, IT IS LIKE A WARM BREEZE IN A WINTER’S DAY TO FEEL THE PASSION OF BRANDEE YOUNGER AS SHE BRINGS A MIXTURE OF THE HEAVENLY ASSOCIATED HARP WITH THE EARTHLY JOYS OF JAZZ. LOOK FOR HER STRUMMING BY YOUR TOWN SOME DAY, IT COULD BE AN ANGELIC EXPERIENCE