These are the touring shows that are coming to Denver. All of the other shows on our website are top local musicians.
Otis Taylor
Show Description
Otis Taylor grew up in Denver, but like the old blues song said, he was born in Chicago in 1948. According to Taylor his parents were both jazz fans. My dad worked for the railroad and knew a lot of jazz people. He was a socialist and real bebopper. His mother loved everything from Etta James to Pat Boone. The first instrument Taylor learned to play was the banjo, but he soon rejected the banjo for its association with the racist American South. Taylor would eventually return to the banjo upon discovering its African roots.
Like so many musicians in Denver, Taylor drew inspiration from time spent at the Denver Folklore Center founded by Harry Tuft, where he first heard Piedmont, Delta, country, and Chicago blues artists like Son House, Muddy Waters, and Mississippi Fred McDowell. He learned to play guitar and harmonica and while still in his teens he formed a band called the Butterscotch Fire Department and later the Otis Taylor Blues Band.
A version of this article was published on AllAboutJazz.com on June 12, 2023.
The harp is far from a common jazz instrument and the list of famous jazz harpists is a short one. In fact, the list of significant jazz harpists probably numbers about two: Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby. There have been a few others here and there, but none that had the impact of those two. But wait, there’s a new contender on the scene: Brandee Younger. Sunday night at Dazzle, Younger stated her case for expanding that short list of significant jazz harpists.
The harp brings a different sound to jazz. Often associated, in popular culture, with angels floating among the clouds, it seems antithetical to jazz’s often boisterous, gritty, slice-of-life soundscape. But the scope and sounds of jazz are wide and if a player can make an unusual instrument work somewhere within the big jazz tent, he or she will be welcomed.
At age 39, Younger has been playing for several years in a variety of contexts ranging from classical to hip hop. She’s also worked as an educator at several institutions of higher education including New York University and the New School, among others. But it was her albums on Impulse! that started to catch the attention of many in the jazz world, Somewhere Different (Impulse! 2021) and Brand New Life (Impulse! 2023).
Sunday night at Dazzle, Younger brought all her myriad influences with her along with bassist Rashaan Carter and drummer Allan Mednard. She filled her set with tunes from those aforementioned albums, alternating with songs by her harp heroes, Alice Coltrane and Dorothy Ashby (who else?). She began her set with “Rama, Rama,” a composition by Alice Coltrane. This one had an ethereal, floating atmosphere tailor made for the heavenly sonics of her pedal harp. Her original, “Love and Struggle” from Somewhere Different followed. This one, as befitting the title, had a bit more of an edge to it. Another original, “Unrest” followed. She explained that she wrote that song during the pandemic and was inspired by events happening right outside her window.
Another Alice Coltrane piece followed, “Turiya and Ramakrishna” and then her own “Moving Target” from Brand New Life. That one incorporated a busy rhythm section, especially the drum part. The hyperactive rhythmic activity contrasted nicely with the relaxed harp floating overhead. She then incorporated her other heroine, Dorothy Ashby, into the act with her composition “You’re a Girl for One Man Only,” which also appears on Brand New Life.
A solo piece followed, Stevie Wonder’s “If It’s Magic” also from Brand New Life. Younger explained that it was Ashby that played the harp part on Wonder’s original recording which appeared on Songs in the Key of Life (Tamla, 1976). “Spirit U Will” was from Somewhere Different and had one of the sharper edges of the evening, again creating tension with the rhythm section while the harp drifted above the fray in a gauzy reverie.
Perhaps Younger’s biggest challenge of the evening was the Denver Nuggets. Making their way to the NBA finals for the first time in team history, Game 2 of the series began only a few blocks from Dazzle shortly before Younger’s first set. She thanked the audience more than once for choosing her band over the game. Indeed, the first set sold out, even in the face of championship hoops. But the Nuggets have played dozens of games in Denver this season. What Denver hasn’t seen is jazz harp played like this. It was a one-of-a-kind evening.
