Force Majeure

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on live music is going to take a long, long time to feel distant enough to fully dismiss, but it’s still remarkable to consider some of the work that was able to permeate the lockdowns and restrictions just by giving some restless artists a new context to create in. Bassist Dezron Douglas and harpist Brandee Younger chose to broadcast their own Harlem house-bound musical transmissions through a recurring weekly livestream that found solace in reflective yet lively-played standards from Joe Raposo (“Sing”) to the Coltranes (John’s “Equinox”; Alice’s “Gospel Trane”) to Kate Bush (“This Woman’s Work”), strength in the reinforcement of Black-led art, and connection to an audience that only proved distant in the physical sense. Essential work in every sense of the term.