The Harp as a Portal to Complex Jazz

The Harp as a Portal to  Complex Jazz
Brandee Younger’s graceful, gentle harp enhances and entices listeners into an appreciation of modern jazz music. She and her trio perform with the Hudson Jazz Festival on Nov. 14. 
Photo by Erin Patrice O’Brien​

On Nov. 4, the Hudson Jazz Festival decided to postpone its online concerts until the spring of 2021.

The harp isn’t an instrument you normally associate with improvisational jazz, free jazz, avant garde jazz, bebop or … well, you get the idea. 

But when harpist Brandee Younger plays alongside the sharper, harder edges of the traditional jazz saxophone, it makes it more accessible to someone like me, for instance, who often finds jazz a little acoustically forbidding. 

You can hear it for yourself in a new Spotify playlist featuring Younger and other performers associated with this year’s Hudson Jazz Festival. Better still,  you can now get tickets for virtual performances at the Hudson, N.Y., venue that will continue through December.

This year’s festival celebrates the music and partnership of saxophonist/composer/legend John Coltrane and his wife, Alice, a jazz pianist/harpist and the love of Coltrane’s life. 

The Brandee Younger Trio kicks off the concert series on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. Tickets to the virtual concert are $20.

One week later, on Nov. 21 at 7 p.m., it’s the Marcus Strickland Quartet, followed by the Orrin Evans Trio on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (Nov. 28); the J.D. Allen Trio on Friday, Dec. 4, at 7 p.m.; and ending with Camille Thurman and the Darrell Green Trio. 

There is a related art and music show curated by Reginald Madison that explores making music at home during the quarantine. The artists included in the show are David Hammons, Bijan Mahmoodi, Marlene Marshall, Kris Perry, Richard Sandler, Tschabalala Self and Kianja Strobert. Visits are by reservation only. 

Learn more about the concerts and art show at www.hudsonhall.org; discount pricing is available if you buy multiple tickets or a package. 

To get a sneak peek, look for the Spotify playlist called Hudson Jazz Festival: Special Edition. You can hear Brandee Younger playing with award-winning jazz saxophonist Ravi Coltrane, the son of John and Alice. To find Spotify, search it online or go to the app store on your phone. 

Latest News

Joseph Robert Meehan

SALISBURY — Joseph Robert Meehan the 2nd,photographer, college professor and nearly 50 year resident of Salisbury, passed away peacefully at Noble Horizon on June 17, 2025. He was 83.

He was the son of Joseph Meehan the 1st and his mother, Anna Burawa of Levittown, New York, and sister Joanne, of Montgomery, New York.

Keep ReadingShow less
Florence Olive Zutter Murphy

STANFORDVILLE, New York — It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of Florence Olive Zutter Murphy, who went home to be with the Lord on June 16, 2025, at the age of 99.

She was born in Sharon, Connecticut on Nov. 20, 1925, and was a long time resident of the Dutchess County area.

Keep ReadingShow less
Chore Service hosts annual garden party fundraiser

Chore Service hosted 250 supporters at it’s annual Garden Party fundraiser.

Bob Ellwood

On Saturday, June 21, Mort Klaus, longtime Sharon resident, hosted 250 enthusiastic supporters of Northwest Corner’s beloved nonprofit, Chore Service at his stunning 175-acre property. Chore Service provides essential non-medical support to help older adults and those with disabilities maintain their independence and quality of life in their own homes.

Jane MacLaren, Executive Director, and Dolores Perotti, Board President, personally welcomed arriving attendees. The well-stocked bar and enticing hors d’oeuvres table were popular destinations as the crowd waited for the afternoon’s presentations.

Keep ReadingShow less
Bach and beyond
The Berkshire Bach Society (BBS) of Stockbridge will present a concert by cellist Dane Johansen on June 28 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
Provided

The mission statement of the Berkshire Bach Society (BBS) reads: “Our mission is to preserve the cultural legacy of Baroque music for current and future audiences — local, national, and international — by presenting the music of J.S. Bach, his Baroque predecessors, contemporaries, and followers performed by world-class musicians.”

Its mission will once again be fulfilled by presenting a concert featuring Dane Johansen on June 28 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church at 29 Main Street, in Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

Keep ReadingShow less