Brandee Younger's Brand New Life is a bold and heartfelt tribute to pioneering jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby. Across ten tracks, Younger breathes new life into five of Ashbys compositions, adding her own originals and drawing in contemporary influences like hiphop beats, reggae grooves, and soulful vocals. Produced by Makaya McCraven and featuring contributions from Meshell Ndegeocello, Pete Rock, 9th Wonder, and Mumu Fresh, the album transcends traditional genre boundariesmelding classical, jazz, funk, and R&B into a cohesive, modern tapestry that honors Ashby while asserting Younger's unique artistic vision.

Critics highlighted Younger's exceptional harp technique and fearless genre-blending. Pitchfork lauded it as a record that scans as adultcontemporary hiphop (in a good way!) and praised her harps vocal quality in crossgenerational dialogue between jazz and hiphop. All About Jazz noted that Younger serenades splendidly on the harp, blending hiphop, classical, funk, and jazz into a beautiful, meditative love song on tracks like Youre A Girl For One Man Only. German magazine HHV Mag remarked that on this album, Younger mixes the styles even more confidently and successfully and that her brilliance lies in her elegant restraint.

Reviews

Brand New Life is Younger's tribute to Ashby's achievements. Pitchfork

Younger serenades splendidly on the harp. All About Jazz

Brand New Life brilliantly mixes R&B and hiphop influences into the mix. Presto Music

Younger mixes the styles even more confidently and successfully. HHV Mag

Her brilliance lies in her elegant restraint. HHV Mag

A1 You'Re A Girl For One Man Only
A2 Brand New Life
A3 Come Live With Me (Interlude)
A4 Livin' And Lovin' In My Own Way
B1 Running Game (Intro)
B2 Running Game
B3 Moving Target
B4 Dust
B5 The Windmills Of Your Mind
B6 If It'S Magic