When it comes to jazz harpists, there are only so many you can take inspiration from. There is the Dorothy Ashby tradition (exemplified by her protégé Carol Robbins) and the more explorative Alice Coltrane tradition. Brandee Younger will be the first to admit both musicians helped shape her sound, but she also processed a lot of classical, R&B, and hip hop. However, she has the apostolic honor of playing Coltrane’s concert grand. You will hear her producing some beautiful sounds from it in Ephraim Asili’s short documentary, Isis & Osiris, which screens as part of the Music of Sound short program at MoMA’s 2025 Documentary Fortnight.
As Younger explains, John Coltrane never had the chance to hear his wife play the instrument she now performs on. They custom-ordered it together, but he tragically passed away before it was delivered. In some ways, the music both younger and Alice Coltrane created on it represent part of his lasting legacy. (Younger also recorded with John and Alice Coltrane’s son, Ravi, so the Coltrane family has had great significance for her throughout her career.)
It certainly sounds like her harp’s provenance still inspires her, judging from the in-studio performance Asili captured. Indeed, the entire short film was conceived as a tribute to Alice Coltrane, commissioned for the Hammer Museum’s Alice Coltrane, Monument Eternal exhibition.
For those unfamiliar with Alice Coltrane’s recordings, Younger’s music might not sound very much like “jazz.” However, those who know the music of the Coltranes could see how it relates to his “sheets of sound” and her Eastern-flavored avant-garde sacred music. Call it what you want. The music is transfixing and Asili’s use of a split screen to double his relentlessly panning camera has an equally hypnotic effect.
Frankly, this is one of the few documentary short films that probably plays even better on a large screen. It looks and sounds terrific. Of course, nobody can speak for the late Ms. Coltrane, but I suspect she would really enjoy it too. Highly recommended for patrons of jazz and improvised spiritual music, Isis & Osiris screens as part of the Music of Sound program this coming Sunday (2/23) and Wednesday (2/26) at MoMA—(and fans of Ashby might be interested to learn her rendition of “Django” plays over the closing credits of Quentin Dupieux’s The Second Act, screening next month during Rendez-Vous with French Films).
