The Hague, The Netherlands — Innovative harpist Brandee Younger is excited to announce performances at this year’s Mondriaan Festival in The Netherlands, on Saturday, October 13th with both esteemed drummer Makaya McCraven and artist collective Brooklyn Raga Massive.
Tickets available here.
Brooklyn Raga Massive featuring Dutch trumpeter Eric Vloeimans will take to the Paard Main Stage at 5:00pm. Alongside Vloeimans, Younger will be joined by Sameer Gupta (drums, table, musical director), Jay Gandhi (bansuri), Arun Ramamurthy (violin), Rashaan Carter (bass), Abhik Mukherjee (sitar), Sharik Hasan (keyboards, piano) and Pawan Benjamin (saxophone). Brooklyn Raga Massive (BRM) is a collective of forward thinking musicians rooted in and inspired by Indian classical music, based in Brooklyn and Harlem, New York. Hailed as “Leaders of the Raga Renaissance” by the New Yorker, BRM creates original composed music by its members, but also music by a.o. John Coltrane, Alice Coltrane in a unique cross-cultural Raga inspired discourse, merging the jazz world and the Indian Classical world.
Later that night at 11:15pm, Younger will take to the Paard Main Stage for her second appearance of the day. This performance will see her join esteemed drummer Makaya McCraven and a contemporary supergroup brought together specially for MJAZZ18. Alongside McCraven and Younger, Universal Beings will feature Jeff Parker (guitar), Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (Violin), Soweto Kinch (saxophone, spoken word), Junius Paul (bass) and Ben LaMar Gay (cornet, effects).
Contemporary harpist Brandee Younger is one the most in-demand and innovative musicians of her time. Of her second album as a leader, Wax & Wane (2016), Nate Chinen at The New York Times enthused, “Ms. Younger’s sleek, assured new album, luxuriates in groove.” She’s played with jazz legends like Pharoah Sanders and Jack DeJohnette as well as John Legend, Common, and Drake and is considered one of the leading harpists of her generation. Recently, Younger led a trio of harpists alongside the incomparable Moses Sumney for a stirring rendition of his single “Quarrel”. A regular collaborator with Sumney, Younger’s haunting contributions are chronicled on a rare live performance for The Fader which is viewable here via Revive Music. In addition to her work with Sumney, Younger recently participated in “Monastic and Ecstatic: A Glimpse into the Life and Legacy of Alice Coltrane” at MOMA PS1. This 6 hour event on the life of Alice Coltrane featured presentations, performances and lectures by Brandee Younger, Ravi Coltrane, Michelle Coltrane, Ashley Kahn, Laraaji and Kelsey Lu.
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