March 13: The Sampling of Dorthy Ashby – Harp in Hip Hop: Discussion and Listening Party (RSVP)
March 20: Brandee Younger in Concert: The Music of Dorothy Ashby and Brandee Younger (RSVP)
World-renowned harpist Brandee Younger will be curating two nights at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem as part of their program Hip-Hop and Jazz: A Crossroads of Chance. During this special event, Younger will be exploring the parallels between the two genres as well as their unique relationship to each other through demonstrated through the work of harpist Dorothy Ashby and contemporary hip hop artists. There is a ten dollar suggested donation for each event.
On the first evening, Younger will be joined by writer Seve Chambers to explore some of the Dorothy Ashby samples that populate modern hip hop. Ashby’s “Come Live With Me”, “Wax And Wane” and “Cause I Need It”, among others, will be presented alongside the songs by Pete Rock, Kanye West, DJ Premiere that sampled them. On the second night, Younger will continue the conversation and present some of her own music that has been influenced by hip hop.
Younger is uniquely positioned to lead this discussion. Her first professional recording was for Bad Boy Records in 2006. Since then, Younger has collaborated with artists such as Common, Lauryn Hill and Drake while firmly planting her feet in jazz (evidenced by her associations with the likes of Ravi Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders). She has released three critically acclaimed albums, including 2016’s genre-defying Wax & Wane and is considered one of the foremost authorities on Ashby and Alice Coltrane.
The National Jazz Museum in Harlem is located at 58 West 129th Street. Both events begin at 7pm.