Grammy nominated harpist Brandee Younger has announced a new album, Gadabout Season. Produced by bassist Rashaan Carter, the 10-track record features special guests Shabaka, Courtney Bryan, Niia, and Josh Johnson. The title track, which features vibraphonist Joel Ross, Makaya McCraven on percussion, and Shabaka on clarinet, is out now. Gadabout Season is Younger’s third album for the legendary Impulse! label and is out in June.
Gababout is a word for a carefree pleasure-seeker always in motion, pursuing radiance in the midst of struggle. “When it came time to write a piece to represent happiness, ‘Gadabout Season’ felt like the perfect title,” says Younger.
“The album reflects the journey—the search for meaning and beauty amid life’s most complex moments, ultimately emerging with a deeper sense of self,” says Younger, who wrote or co-wrote nearly every composition. “Musically Gadabout Season is more creative and slightly more cerebral than my other works.”
Here, the self-taught Younger steps into her own compositional voice, crafting music that blends jazz, classical, R&B, hip-hop, and electronic textures. “This writing process forced me to be completely honest,” she says. “I’m not hiding behind someone else’s work.”
Most of the album was written at Younger’s cousin’s peaceful cabin in upstate New York. She later workshopped the songs with Carter and drummer Allan Mednard. Gadabout Season was tracked over several months in the second half of 2024 with Carter producing and engineering the album from Younger’s Harlem apartment. “I’m used to doing one and done in the studio,” Younger says. “This recording process was slow and intentional, allowing the sound of the album to reveal itself over time and mirroring a journey of discovery.” At the end of each session, the trio dedicated time to sketch out ideas and improvise, which led to the tracks “Reckoning,” “Discernment,” and “End Means.”
Younger’s performance on Gadabout Season is informed by a “life-changing” instrument that entered her life, a harp belonging to the late Alice Coltrane. She became its custodian in late 2024 after the harp was restored in honor of “The Year of Alice,” a series of high-profile releases, events, and exhibits co-sponsored by Impulse!. “It had to become my own,” she says of becoming comfortable with the majestic instrument. “This was not my first time playing the harp, but as this new music was unique to me, I had to become one with it at home.”
The pianist-composer, MacArthur Fellow, and frequent Younger collaborator Courtney Bryan appears on “Surrender.” Inspired by Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, “Surrender” summons up that moment of “going to the altar and giving all,” says Younger. “To me, this is the most revealing piece on the album. It’s about seeking solace in quiet surrender.” Younger describes another song, “BBL,” as a “musical confrontation.” “If it had lyrics, it would have an advisory warning,” she says. “I left no room for a civil conversation.”
Younger’s first LP for Impulse! was 2021’s Somewhere Different. A track from that album, “Beautiful Is Black,” earned Younger a Grammy nomination in the Best Instrumental Composition category, making her the first Black female solo artist to achieve this. 2023’s Brand New Life pays tribute to the Black female harpist Dorothy Ashby and won the 2024 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Album. This year, Younger will embark on a series of performances later this year, including stops at Ghent Jazz Festival, Montreux Jazz Festival, and at New York’s Carnegie Hall alongside Ravi Coltrane.
Order Brandee Younger’s Gadabout Season now.
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