Uniondale native Brandee Younger performs at Tilles Jazz Fest

Brandee Younger is a jazz harpist and a Long Island native. She grew up in Hempstead and Uniondale, and her musical talent and passion has blossomed into a successful career that takes her to venues across the country.

Younger’s most recent performance was at the Tilles Jazz Fest last Saturday. She played a duet with bassist Rashaan Carter.

It was at the Tilles Center, on the LIU Post campus in Brookville, where Younger, 41, used to play the harp in the Center’s summer chamber music program when she attended Walnut Street Elementary School and Uniondale High School.

“I’ve got a really cool connection to the Tilles Center,” she said. “It’s like home for me.”

Her duet performance drew a crowd of jazz enthusiasts. Sheila Chectman, who attended the festival with her husband, said she enjoyed Younger’s music, especially since it was her first time hearing a jazz harpist.

“I’ve never heard a harpist before,” she said. “I didn’t know what to expect.”

Tyler Simpson is a longtime fan of Younger’s, and of jazz in general, and he was happy to hear the performance.

“I love her — I’ve listened to her albums forever,” Simpson said. “It’s great to see some of my favorite artists live.”

Younger grew up in Hempstead, but her family moved to Uniondale when she was in fifth grade and became active members of the community. Her mom taught third grade at Grand Avenue Elementary School in Uniondale, and her family regularly attended Union Baptist Church in Hempstead.

She said that her experiences and opportunities growing up in Uniondale helped shape her career.

“I think most of my formative years actually happened in Uniondale, and it’s in Uniondale where I really started to play an instrument,” Younger said.

She began with the flute, and then played trombone in the Uniondale High marching band. “A big part of my musical life there at school, once I got to high school, was marching band,” she recalled.

She was serious about the trombone, but took harp lessons as well outside school, and her passion for the instrument grew with her involvement in the Tilles chamber music program.

She was also inspired by Sarah Lawrence, another African American harpist and Hempstead native. Her grandmother knew Lawrence, and Younger grew up learning about her.

“She was in Hempstead playing harp at a time when there were no black harpists,” Younger said of Lawrence. “It was really big for me growing up.”

She drew inspiration from other well-known artists, including Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane, for the strides they made as black women harpists in the jazz community. Younger had the chance to perform at Coltrane’s funeral in 2007, which became a defining moment in her career.

“To have the opportunity to study her music, and study it with her family, and to play it with the musicians that she worked with was deeply meaningful for me,” Younger said.

She encourages young musicians in Uniondale and Hempstead to meet as many people as they can to build connections. They should take whatever opportunities come their way, she added, whether through school, summer programs, or other venues, even if they are outside of their comfort zones.

“Don’t be afraid to branch out to study at a conservatory outside of the Island,” she said.