(light upbeat music) - I am here with Grammy Nominated Harpist, Brandee Younger.

She's going to be here in Detroit for the 45th Annual Detroit Jazz Festival playing on the restored harp of Alice Coltrane.

Let's lay the foundation.

For those who may not know about Alice Coltrane, explain to us the legacy and work that Alice Coltrane as a harpist, as an organist, and pianist contributed to jazz and to music.

- We actually don't have time for all of that because it is just monumental what she's done as a musician and also as a spiritual leader.

But her first records were recorded in the late '60s, early '70s, right on Long Island where I'm from, which now it's the Coltrane Home, the John and Alice Coltrane home.

And actually, Alice Coltrane didn't have a harp Long Island.

So this harp did not live in Detroit.

This will be like christening, I'm like over the moon, this is literally bringing the harp to her home.

She had so many albums.

So she recorded the first few on Long Island right there in the home studio, which was John Coltrane's wish for the home to have a studio.

Sadly, he did not live to see it, but she saw it to fruition after his death.

She moved to California and she did record more albums, but then really focused on her spirituality where she could continued to always play music and to record music, but stopped commercially recording until she recorded "Translinear Light" after a long, long hiatus of commercial recording, which is an incredible album.

- Rewinding, going back to John Coltrane, he had an untimely death at the young age of 40 years old, and he was really moving his music forward in a different direction, in a spiritual direction.

It was building on the harmonies and sound of the music.

And so shortly after his passing, there was a knock on Alice Coltrane's door, and there was a harp delivered, but she didn't even play the harp at that time.

- So you're absolutely right, she learned the harp.

- Right.

- But the harp did take a year to complete.

So John Coltrane never saw it.

It's really sad, but also really beautiful how she really took to it, and took to it in her own way, which is really, really special and really important when we hear the sound that she creates with the instrument.

- And now it's been restored, which is not a minor undertaking.

How did the process of restoring Alice Coltrane's harp come about?

- So the harp lived at Michelle's house, and a few years back I came over the house and I looked at it and of course fell in love with the harp.

Had a harp technician look at it just to see like, it's been a number of years, you just wanna make sure that it's up and running the way it should.

So the bottom of the harp, right, which is called the base, we had that repaired and also the neck, had that repaired.

And of course that means we also get new strings.

We also get some of the gold.

It's 18 karat gold.

- That's amazing.

- Yeah, yeah.

It's really beautiful, and it's a special instrument.

- Brandee Younger will be performing on Alice Coltrane's restored harp at the 45th Annual Detroit Jazz Festival as a part of the "Translinear Light," the music of Alice Coltrane featuring Robbie Coltrane with special guest, of course, Brandee Younger, Reggie Workman who recorded with John Coltrane and collaborated with Alice Coltrane.

How exciting and what an honor it must be for you to have this privilege to perform on the harp in Detroit, the birth home of Alice Coltrane.

- It's truly an honor.

I've had the opportunity to play Alice Coltrane's music with Ravi twice before in the past.

The first being shortly after her memorial.

We did a beautiful tribute to her.

And then a few years ago, again, but so much time has passed, there's been a resurgence in all things Alice Coltrane, and we've got this harp on stage.

(laughs) So I am really particularly, I mean, I'm always excited to do it, but this one just feels really monumental.

- What are you cooking up for us in this performance that's coming up at the Detroit Jazz Festival?

- For everyone that has heard all of the past tributes that we've done together, this one is going to be absolutely different.

Ravi picked all of the music, I have my go-tos that people just expect to hear me play.

We're not playing any of those.

So this is going to be, do the kids still say this, epic?