About
Over the past 17 years she has worked relentlessly to stretch boundaries for harpists. Younger became the first Black woman to be nominated for a Grammy Award in 2022 for best instrumental composition. In 2024 she won the NAACP Image Award in the category of outstanding jazz album for her latest release, “Brand New Life.” Ever expanding as an artist, she has worked with cultural icons including Common, Lauryn Hill, John Legend, Pharoah Sanders, and Christian McBride.
Her original composition “Hortense” was featured in the Netflix concert documentary “Beyoncé: Homecoming,” and in 2019, Younger was selected to perform her original music for Quincy Jones and Steve McQueen’s “Soundtrack of America” concert series. Younger draws inspiration from women who ushered in the harp as a clear and distinct voice in jazz and popular styles—particularly Detroit-natives Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane. Younger’s music is imbued with a sense of purpose and respect of legacy, creating a larger platform for the harp to reach newer and wider audiences than ever before. In addition to performing and recording, Younger is on the faculty at New York University’s Steinhardt School and The New School College of Performing Arts.