One of the instruments you least expect to hear in jazz music is the classical harp. But it is precisely with this instrument that Brandee Younger has enriched the genre, starting today with her third album Gadabout Season.

Younger's music definitely deserves the term fusion, as it integrates a wide variety of styles into one body of sound. The influences that can be found range from classical to meditative passages and moods. However, the substructure is undoubtedly jazz at all times.

In general, it is noticeable that Gadabout Season lacks the hard, sharp sounds that are usually forced into the listening room by guitars and wind instruments, although a wind section is also present on this album. It almost seems as if the per se delicate harp as the lead instrument gives the ensemble a playing etiquette in the notebook, the tenor of which is: Don't overdo it!

Nevertheless, this sound world is charming. Much of the music is rather calm, and more agitated moments such as the opening of Discernment are relaxed despite all the excitement. In End Means, the harp is joined by the flute - not a representative of an acoustically rough appearance either.

There is no lack of humor either. When for 4 minutes 34 deeply relaxed music with broom playing and choral singing flows calmly into the room from a faded distance, this calmness takes on a spin of its own as soon as the title of the piece catches the listener's eye: Unswept Corners.

However, anyone who thinks that Gadabout Season's mellow nature makes it a slow-burning album without verve and dynamism is mistaken. The musical interweavings, the harmonic tricks, the arrangements themselves offer numerous moments that make you sit up and take notice and experience music in a new way. The wildness of the harp in Breaking Point is just one example of many that illustrate how diverse music can be if only enough courage and the desire to try flow into the compositions.

Gadabout Season is recorded very convincingly. This also includes the fact that the stage breathes - the harp on Reflection Internal is to the right of center in a rather compactly staggered arrangement, while the stage on New Pinnacle is wide so that the runs of Brandee Younger's fingers on the strings can spread across the width of the entire listening space. Such adjustments also contribute to the enjoyment of the performance.

What remains to be said? A really exciting album. (Thomas Semmler, HighResMac)

Brandee Younger, harp
Rashaan Carter, bass
Allan Mednard, drums
Shabaka, flute, clarinet
Makaya McCraven, percussion
Joel Ross, vibraphone
Courtney Bryan, piano, Fender Rhodes
Ele Howell, drums
Josh Johnson, saxophone

Photo: Erin O'Brien