Play it Forward

An intimate evening of music at the home of Mark Rudd and Tracy Dockray in Greenwich Village to support the Greenwich House Music School Scholarship Fund. This year’s performance features

Ravi Coltrane

and

Brandee Younger

with Rashaan Carter

The evening begins with performances from some of Greenwich House Music School’s students who have received scholarships.

Catering is provided by Little Owl, and guests can enjoy fine wine from the private collection of Mark Rudd and Tracy Dockray.

Ravi Coltrane, the second son of John Coltrane and Alice Coltrane, is a critically acclaimed Grammy nominated saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. In the course of a twenty-plus year career, Mr. Coltrane has worked as a sideman to many, recorded noteworthy albums for himself and others and founded a prominent independent record label, RKM.

Ravi’s latest album, Spirit Fiction, was released in June of 2012 for the Blue Note label. Additional credits include performances as well as recordings with Elvin Jones, Terence Blanchard, Kenny Baron, Steve Coleman, McCoy Tyner, Jack DeJohnette, Matt Garrison, Jeff ‘Tain’ Watts, Geri Allen, Joanne Brackeem, The Blue Note 7, among others. He is a co-leader of the Saxophone Summit with Joe Lovano and Dave Liebman.

Ravi lives in Brooklyn, NY and maintains a fast paced touring, recording, composing and performance schedule. He leads the effort to restore the John Coltrane Home in Dix Hills, Long Island and presides over important reissues of his parent’s recordings.

Harpist Brandee Younger is a classically-trained musician playing in the avant-garde tradition of her sonically forward predecessors Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane. As well versed in performance art as she is in the art of creative risk-taking, Brandee Younger challenges commonly-held notions in her quest to make the harp a more relevant force in today’s music.

Ms. Younger’s ability to seamlessly inject the harp into arrangements and venues where it has been overlooked is a testament to her dedication to the instrument. She delivers a consistently fresh take on the timeless instrument as a performer and leader of the Brandee Younger Quartet. Known for expressive interpretations of traditional harp repertoire as well as her continuing work with a diverse cross-section of musical talents, Brandee is a creative linchpin whose nuanced presence and willingness to push boundaries makes her irreplaceable on record and in performance.

She has graced the stage with jazz leaders and popular hip-hop and r&b titans including Ravi Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Jack Dejohnette, Reggie Workman, Common, Salaam Remi, John Legend, Maxwell and Lauryn Hill. Her fourth album Soul Awakening was released in June of 2019 and her original composition “Hortense” can be heard on the original Netflix Concert-Documentary by Beyoncé; Homecoming.